Rittenhouse faces a murder trial.
What you should know about case 2:54
(CNN) -
As attorneys in Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial prepare for closing arguments Monday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has 500 National Guard troops on standby outside of Kenosha, ahead of a possible verdict.
Dramatic scenes - like Rittenhouse's crying on the stand and the judge's admonition to the prosecution last week - have already taken place inside the courtroom.
Evers now prepares for scenes outside the room.
"The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and united at incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing process continues," Evers said in a statement Friday.
"I urge people who are not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and I encourage those who may choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully. ".
This Monday the final arguments will be presented for a maximum of five hours and the jury, made up of eight men and ten women, will be reduced to 12 by a lottery of names, according to the judge.
A verdict may be reached this week in a case that is already attracting the attention of a divided nation.
The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, between anger and tears 3:32
Some see the 18-year-old Rittenhouse as an armed vigilante who should go to jail, and others say he acted in self-defense when he was there to help provide first aid and protect people's property.
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Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber using an AR-15 type rifle during protests and demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020. Rittenhouse also wounded Gaige Grosskreutz.
The shooting took place during protests after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake.
Testimony at the Kyle Rittenhouse trial concludes.
These are some key moments
Rittenhouse now faces five felony counts and one weapons-related misdemeanor count.
If Rittenhouse is found guilty of the most serious charge against him, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
He has pleaded not guilty to all six charges.
Judge is considering lesser charges for Kyle Rittenhouse
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder met with attorneys Friday morning for a jury briefing conference, telling Rittenhouse that bringing lesser charges to the jury reduces the chance of a second trial. but it increases the risk of a conviction.
Schroeder explained that if the prosecution is unable to establish Rittenhouse's guilt in the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt, then the jury must acquit him.
The judge indicated that it would allow the jury to consider lesser charges in the shooting death of Anthony Huber.
Rittenhouse is charged with first degree murder while using a dangerous weapon in Huber's death.
Witnesses reveal what Kyle Rittenhouse did after shooting at Kenosha 3:25
Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree murder while using a dangerous weapon in the death of Joseph Rosenbaum.
For endangering the safety of Richard McGinnis, Rittenhouse is charged with qualified reckless murder while using a dangerous weapon.
For shooting Gaige Grosskreutz, Rittenhouse is charged with attempted first-degree murder while using a dangerous weapon.
And for endangering the safety of an unknown man - known as the "kick man" in court - Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree attempt to endanger safety with the use of a dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors requested that the jury be briefed on the provocation, arguing that Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum by raising his gun and pointing it at someone, prompting Rosenbaum to run after him.
The judge agreed to allow the court to consider whether Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum to attack him, thereby denying self-defense.
Why was the judge angry during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial?
Ellie Honig, a CNN legal analyst and former prosecutor, said the probe into the provocation was a major victory for the prosecution.
Honig said the investigation allows prosecutors to argue that "the defendant went too far, used deadly force when it was not reasonably necessary" and that he "provoked the attack, and therefore cannot argue self-defense."
Prosecutors also asked the judge to instruct the jury to consider the second-degree recklessness charges, but the request was denied.
The sole survivor of the shooting says he saw Rittenhouse as an "active attacker"
Rittenhouse took the stand in his own defense last week, offering emotional testimony in which he said he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, who had thrown a plastic bag at him and chased him.
During questioning, Rittenhouse indicated that he knew Rosenbaum was unarmed when he ran toward him, and said that he pointed the gun at Rosenbaum to deter him.
Rittenhouse noted that he was aware that pointing a rifle at someone is dangerous.
"He was chasing me, he was alone, he threatened to kill me that night. I didn't want to have to shoot him," Rittenhouse said.
"I took aim at him because he kept running towards me and I didn't want him to chase me."
Kyle Rittenhouse cries on stand during his 2:24 trial
Kyle Rittenhouse said he was afraid Rosenbaum - who didn't touch him - would pick up his gun and kill people.
But Gaige Grosskreutz, the only one of the three men Rittenhouse shot who survived, said on the stand that he viewed Rittenhouse as an active attacker.
Grosskreutz, 27, told the court that he first encountered Rittenhouse when "the defendant had essentially been offering medical help" to people at the protest.
Later, Grosskreutz said he heard gunshots and heard people yelling for a doctor, so he ran in the direction of the shooting.
He stopped and turned when moments later Rittenhouse passed him on the street, Grosskreutz said, adding that when Rittenhouse passed him, he seemed to hear him say, "I'm working with the police and I didn't do anything."
Grosskreutz said that after hearing people yell that Kyle Rittenhouse had just shot someone, he soon believed that Rittenhouse was an active attacker.
"More people were pointing at the defendant, saying that he had just shot someone, that he is trying to escape," Grosskreutz said.
"Deducting further from the things I had heard, experienced and witnessed earlier in the night, I thought the defendant was an active attacker," Grosskreutz told jurors.
CNN's Aya Elamroussi and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
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