The members of the jury of the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse begin to deliberate this Tuesday if he acted in self-defense

By David K. Li -

The fate of 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and wounded two men during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, is in the hands of Wisconsin jurors, who will begin deliberations Tuesday morning.

His trial concluded Monday after Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney James Kraus had the final say in a rebuttal of the defense's final arguments just before 7 p.m.

[Kyle Rittenhouse bursts into tears and justifies killing two people at the Kenosha protest: "I was defending myself!"]

“It is not for Mr. Rittenhouse to be the judge and jury and eventually the executioner.

The only imminent threat that night was Mr. Rittenhouse ... He is guilty, ”concluded Kraus.

Rittenhouse has argued throughout the trial that he acted in self-defense amid a chaotic scene when he fatally shot two men on August 25, 2020, during a demonstration that erupted after police shot Jacob Blake.

His life was under threat, defense attorney Mark Richards alleged to jurors Monday.

"Every person who was shot was attacking Kyle," he said.

In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Thomas Binger challenged Rittenhouse's claim of self-defense in shooting down 26-year-old Anthony Huber and 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum.

"They enjoy the thrill of going out there and telling people what to do, without the courage or honor to endorse it and without the legal authority to do it," he said. 

[Men shot in Kenosha by a young man cannot be called "victims" during the trial, according to the judge]

Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with first-degree murder for Huber's murder and reckless murder for Rosenbaum's death.

Moments before closing arguments began Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed a charge of unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under the age of 18.

The misdemeanor, punishable by up to nine months in jail, was considered one of the strongest charges in the prosecution.

No one disputes that Rittenhouse was 17 when he walked the streets of Kenosha armed with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, which is part of a genre of firearms modeled after the iconic AR-15 long rifle, initially developed for military use. . 

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, looks back as he waits with his attorneys Mark Richards, Corey Chirafisi, second from left, and Natalie Wisco during their trial in Kenosha County, Wis., Courthouse Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. SEAN KRAJACIC / The Kenosha News via AP

But Schroeder cited an exception in the law relating to hunting, the defendant's age and barrel length to dismiss the charge.

"The reason observers correctly believed that the firearm misdemeanor charge was a low blow is because it is not disputed that Kyle Rittenhouse was under 17 and possessed a weapon," said de's legal analyst. our sister network, NBC News, Danny Cevallos.

[Kyle Rittenhouse says he used the financial stimulus check to buy the rifle used in a fatal shooting]

“But the criminal statute itself is more complicated than that.

For this statute to apply, the defendant also had to violate a hunting regulation that only applied to minors under 16 years of age.

The defense discovered what was essentially an error in the law, that Kyle Rittenhouse cannot violate a law that only applies to someone under the age of 16, "he said.

Rittenhouse still faces five other charges stemming from the fatal shooting.

On Monday, Binger played a video that appeared to show Rittenhouse lowering a fire extinguisher and raising his gun.

He then recreated that scene for the jurors, putting a bottle of water in place of the fire extinguisher, and raised the actual gun in court.

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"That's what causes all this happening," Binger said.

“When the accused provokes the incident, he loses the right to self-defense.

You cannot claim self-defense against a danger that you create ”, he pointed out.

Binger tried to flip the self-defense claims, saying that the people in the crowd who confronted Rittenhouse that night were the ones protecting themselves.

“I tell you ladies and gentlemen that in this situation the crowd has the right to try to stop an active shooter.

They have the right to protect themselves.

The accused is not the only one in the world who has the right to self-defense, "he argued.

Defense attorney Richards bounced off the term "active shooter."

"Ladies and gentlemen, Kyle was not an active shooter," Richards said in his closing argument.

"That is a buzzword that the state wants to cling to because it excuses the actions of the mafia," he said.

The defense attorney also argued that Rittenhouse is the victim of a political indictment.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a political case," he said.

“The district attorney's office is moving forward with this case because they need someone to be responsible.

They need someone to put in and say, 'We did it, he's the person who brought terror to Kenosha.'

Kyle Rittenhouse is not that individual.

The rioters, the protesters who turned into rioters.

Those are the individuals, ”he said.

Richards portrayed a picture of chaos, garbage fires, a "mob" and "a wall of people destroying cars."

He described Huber's skateboard as a "deadly weapon," a passerby's flashlight as a potential weapon, and another protester as "armed with a two-by-four."

The defense suggested that Rosenbaum could be a danger to others.

"Kyle shot Joseph Rosenbaum to stop a threat against him, and I'm glad he shot him, because if Joseph Rosenbaum had gotten that gun, I don't think for a minute he wouldn't have used it against another individual," Richards said.

"He was irrational and he was crazy," he added.

Kyle Rittenhouse waits near his table during a lull in his trial in Kenosha County, Wis., Court on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.Sean Krajacic / The Kenosha News via AP

Rittenhouse was walking down a street, intending to "put out the fire" in a dumpster, and was "ambushed" by the attackers, Richards said.

"The mob has formed and is chasing him," he said.

Rittenhouse was heading toward the police lights to report what happened when two other people in the crowd attacked him, the defense attorney said.

"Kyle is a zero threat to anyone," Richards said, describing the defendant's attitude: "Everything is fine: leave me alone, I'm going to the police."

[Videos of the night Kyle Rittenhouse killed 2 people star on the eighth day of his trial]

Huber hit Rittenhouse with his skateboard and "tried to rip his head off," the attorney said.

The defense insisted that Rosenbaum was trying to disarm Rittenhouse to use his own weapon against him.

“He was a bad man.

It was there.

It was causing trouble.

He was a troublemaker, and my client had to face him that night alone, ”Richards said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Rosenbaum was shot because he was chasing my client and was going to kill him, take away his weapon and carry out the threats he had made," he said.

Huber and Rosenbaum were not armed when Rittenhouse shot them, but Grosskreutz, 27, approached him with a pistol in hand when Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, opened fire.

“Mr. Grosskreutz decided that he was going to shoot my client.

Unfortunately, my client shot him first, ”Richards told jurors.

Justin Blake, right, uncle of Jacob Blake, who was shot by Kenosha police officers during protests last summer, addresses the crowd outside Kenosha County Courthouse during the ongoing murder trial by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.Charles Rex Arbogast / AP

He argued that Wisconsin law protects what Rittenhouse did.

"My client doesn't have to take a beating at the hands of this mob," Richards said, later concluding that opening fire "was something I was privileged to do."

Previously, Binger compared the threat that the victims posed to Rittenhouse to that of the combatants in a bar fight.

[Almost 70,000 people of Latino origin have died from firearms in the last 20 years]

"You don't bring a gun to a fist fight," he said.

"What the accused wants to be believed is that, because he was the one who carried the weapon, he can kill," he said.

The accusation was largely based on video of the chaos that night in Kenosha and footage from the aftermath.

When Binger showed an autopsy photograph of Rosenbaum's bloody body on a stretcher and then another image of his mangled hand, some jurors looked away from the room's television monitors.

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Binger appeared to notice that jurors winced when he showed bloody images of Gaige Grosskreutz, whose right bicep was practically ripped off by Rittenhouse.

Grosskreutz is a suburban Milwaukee paramedic who was a volunteer at the protest.

“When you shoot an AR-15 at someone at close range, it's what it looks like.

I guarantee you, ladies and gentlemen, that the defendant had no idea what his weapon was capable of, ”Binger said.

“He didn't even bother to pay attention to it.

He didn't worry about what he might do to other people.

But this is what happened.

We do not shy away from this, ”he added.

Binger argued that Rittenhouse had no reason to believe that he was about to be killed or seriously injured, which would have given him the right to kill.

In a highly unusual move, Rittenhouse took the stand in his own defense on November 10 and insisted that he reasonably feared for his life every time he pulled the trigger.

"Kyle Rittenhouse didn't have to take the stand to tell his story," Richards said Monday.

"I wanted you, as members of the jury, to hear his personal experience on the night of the 25."

The trial has attracted national attention.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has put 500 National Guard personnel on alert in case local law enforcement needs help controlling crowds after the verdict.