Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyer filed a response in court saying his client is not a member of any white supremacy group after the teen was seen at a bar flashing white power signs and being ‘loudly serenaded’ with the Proud Boys’ official song.
Rittenhouse, 18, formerly of Antioch, was arrested for shooting and killing two people and injuring a third person during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer.
He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
Rittenhouse was released from the Kenosha County Jail on November 20 after posting a $2 million cash bond.
Prosecutors say that the teen spent almost two hours at Pudgy’s Pub in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin with his mother and several others after he pleaded not guilty to all of his charges on January 5.
Police received a report Rittenhouse was at the bar and officers responded and collected security footage, which was forwarded to prosecutors.
Wisconsin law allows people who are underage to consume alcohol if accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion on Wednesday to restrict Rittenhouse from possessing or consuming alcohol at a bar or restaurant, displaying white power signs, and fraternizing with known members of white supremacy groups.
Prosecutors are also seeking the court to prohibit Rittenhouse from displaying symbols and gestures associated with white supremacy groups.
Surveillance photos published inside the court document show Rittenhouse posing for photos with several men at the bar.
“In these photographs, the defendant and the other adult males flashed the ‘OK’ sign, which has been co-opted as a sign of ‘white power’ by known white supremacist groups,” according to the motion filed by prosecutors.
“Within a few minutes of entering the bar, the defendant was loudly serenaded by five of the adult males in his group with the song ‘Proud of Your Boy,’ which is an obscure song written for the 1992 Disney film ‘Aladdin.’ The violent white supremacist group called the Proud Boys was named after this song, which is sung by its members as an anthem and for self-identification,” prosecutors added.
Mark Richards, who is representing Rittenhouse, filed a response to the state’s bond motion and said that his client does not object to a bond condition prohibiting him from possessing or consuming alcohol.
Richards also said that Rittenhouse is “not currently and has not ever been a member of any of the organizations the State lists in its motion.”
Richards said that prosecutors who have searched Rittenhouse’s social media have not found any information linking Rittenhouse to the white supremacy groups.
“The known complainants in this matter are all Caucasian males. The State’s bond motion is a not-so-thinly veiled attempt to interject the issue of race into a case that is about a person’s right to self-defense,” Richards said.
Rittenhouse’s lawyer added that he does not have any objections to a bond modification prohibiting Rittenhouse from having contact with any known hate groups or their members.
A bond modification hearing has not been scheduled yet. A final pre-trial hearing is scheduled to take place on March 10 and jury selection will take place on March 29.
Rittenhouse spoke to the Washington Post in a phone interview while he was in jail and said he did not regret that he had a gun the night he shot three people, killing two of them.
“God forbid somebody brought a gun to me and decided to shoot me. Like, I like, wanted to be protected, which I ended up having to protect myself,” Rittenhouse said.
“No, I don’t regret it. I feel I had to protect myself,” he told the Post. “I would have died that night if I didn’t.”
Rittenhouse said that he was on furlough from his job at the YMCA due to the pandemic and used the money from his first unemployment check.
“And I got my first unemployment check so I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll use this to buy it,'” he said in the interview.
Rittenhouse’s friend, Dominick Black, was charged with buying and providing the rifle Rittenhouse used in the shootings.
Black, 19, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was charged with two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to someone under 18 causing death, a felony.
Prosecutors said that Black admitted he had purchased the AR-15 style rifle for Rittenhouse, who gave Black the money to buy it and register it in his name.
Prosecutors have said that Black asked Rittenhouse to help him guard Car Source, a Kenosha car dealership, from looting and damage on the night of the August 25 shootings.
The owner of Car Source has denied that he ever requested Rittenhouse or Black to help guard his business.