Young Trump supporter charged with murder 3:32
(CNN) -
The men Kyle Rittenhouse shot in August 2020 could potentially be referred to at his trial as "rioters" or "looters," a Wisconsin judge said Monday, reiterating his opinion that lawyers should not use the word "victim".
Defense attorneys maintain that the young man acted in self-defense when he shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Protesters were shot during a protest over the police shooting of a black man.
Rittenhouse was among the armed civilians who said they were there to protect businesses after nights of fires and looting.
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"Let the evidence show what it has to show, that one or one of these people were involved in fires, riots or looting, then I'm not going to tell the defense that they can't call them that," Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder said. Kenosha County, during the pre-trial hearing.
Schroeder has an old rule of not allowing prosecutors to refer to people as "victims" at trial.
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Rittenhouse is charged with felony murder related to the shooting and murder of Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, and with attempted felony murder for allegedly injuring Gaige Grosskreutz during protests that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon when he was under the age of 18, a misdemeanor, according to court records.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Young Trump supporter charged with murder 3:32
Monday's debate over the use of terms in court could herald contentious proceedings as the trial of the teen accused in the deadly shooting that unfolded during a summer of protests against racial injustice begins across the country.
On Monday, Rittenhouse's legal team and prosecutors attended a pretrial hearing to review pending issues before jury selection begins on November 1.
The conversation revolved around whether defense attorneys could refer to Huber, Rosenbaum and Grosskreutz as arsonists, rioters or looters because of their alleged behavior during the chaotic and fierce demonstrations.
"I don't think he's inclined to pre-moderation," Schroeder said.
But Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger argued that the judge set a "double standard" because of his rule about referring to people as "victims" at trial.
"If you were to count the number of times you've warned me not to call someone a victim during a trial, it would be thousands," Binger said.
"The word 'victim' is a loaded, loaded word. And I think 'alleged victim' is a cousin," Schroeder said.
The 26-year-old killed in the Kenosha shooting, Anthony Huber, was trying to protect those around him, says his girlfriend
But Binger disagreed, telling the judge: "I think it's exactly the same problem. The terms I identify here, such as 'troublemakers', 'looters', 'arsonists' are just as loaded, if not more so, than the term 'victim' ".
The debate over labels and how they can create an impression on the jury about those in the center or at trial gets to the heart of the defense argument that Rittenhouse opened fire that night to protect himself.
CNN legal analyst Areva Martin called the judge's decision "incomprehensible."
"Even if these people who were shot were involved in rioting and looting, the evidence, what we hear to date, is that [Rittenhouse] did not know that," he told CNN on Wednesday.
"He didn't have that information when he pulled the trigger and shot these three individuals, killing two. So his mental state is the one on trial. And the fact that he didn't know they were involved in this activity makes ... that irrelevant evidence. "
Martin said "troublemaker" and "looter" were "loaded" and "pejorative" terms that suggested victims "deserve what they have. They deserve to be shot and even deserve death."
With his decision, Martin said, the judge "is definitely pointing something out to these jurors" and appeared to be "inclined to support the defense."
Two people die during protests in Kenosha 1:05
Shooting in the middle of a chaotic scene
Numerous videos taken during the protests show Rittenhouse, in a green T-shirt, backwards baseball cap and carrying an AR-15 style rifle, walking through the city streets with a group of armed men.
OPINION |
The Kenosha shooting didn't come out of nowhere
According to the criminal complaint against Rittenhouse, which is based on videos and eyewitness accounts, the situation turned deadly after the teenager got into a fight with protesters near a car dealership.
He allegedly shot Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old unarmed protester, after Rosenbaum threw an object that appeared to be a plastic bag at him and missed.
As Rosenbaum lay on the ground, the complaint says, Rittenhouse ran away while calling a friend and saying, "I just killed someone."
He was chased by protesters and then tripped and fell to the ground.
While on the ground, Rittenhouse shot Huber, who appeared to hit him with a skateboard, according to the complaint, and then shot an approaching third protester, Grosskreutz, in the right arm.
Grosskreutz was holding a pistol but had his hands up, the complaint said.
After the shooting, Rittenhouse walked past police with his hands up, bystanders' videos show, and turned himself in to his local police department the morning after the shooting.
Binger, the prosecutor, argued Monday that any behavior that Rosenbaum, Huber or Grosskreutz may have engaged in that night that could lead the jury to believe they were arsonists, rioters or looters was not witnessed by Rittenhouse and should not be part of their defense. .
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"You can't argue in self-defense against things that you're not aware of," Binger said.
"These other acts are strictly designed to attack the reputations of these people, it is designed to paint them in the worst possible way to harm them. Two of them cannot defend themselves ... because the defendant killed them. And it is unduly damaging to the jury that be informed about any of those things. "
But a defense attorney said the shootings must be weighed against the larger context of what was happening that night.
"All that anarchy, all the facts and circumstances surrounding what is happening, is relevant in terms of Kyle Rittenhouse's conduct. I think it is impossible to say that it is not."
CNN's Casey Tolan, Ray Sanchez, Omar Jimenez, and Faith Karimi contributed to this report.
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