The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial released the jury Wednesday afternoon after a second day of deliberations without a verdict being reached.
Rittenhouse, 18, is facing charges of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Juror numbers 11, 58, 14, 45, 9 and 52 were dismissed Tuesday morning, leaving 12 jurors to begin deliberations.
“You’ve been wonderful jurors,” Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder told the six jurors that were dismissed but will still be alternates. “We couldn’t of asked for a higher quality jury, better jurors, more attentive jurors, more prompt jurors.”
The jury began deliberations Tuesday morning around 9:15 a.m. following two weeks of trial proceedings.
The jury was released for the day around 5:50 p.m. after around seven and a half hours of deliberations, not including their hour lunch break.
The jury reconvened Wednesday at 9 a.m. for the second day of deliberations. They were released around 4:30 p.m. after around six and a half hours of deliberations.
They will return at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
On Monday, Rittenhouse’s defense team requested Schroeder dismiss count 6, possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
Prosecutors objected to the request and Schroeder granted the dismissal of the charge due to state law that says people ages 16 and 17 can carry long-barreled rifles, but not short-barreled rifles.
Earlier in the trial, Schroeder dismissed Rittenhouse’s count 7, failure to comply with an emergency management order.
Prosecutors and the defense finished closing arguments on Monday.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger criticized Rittenhouse for falsely claiming to be an EMT and called him an “active shooter” and a “fraud.”
Binger said Rittenhouse provoked the shootings by threatening others.
“If you’re the one who’s threatening others, you lose the right to claim self-defense,” Binger said.
Mark Richards, Rittenhouse’s lead attorney, said Rittenhouse acted in self-defense against a “mob.”
“Every person who was shot was attacking Kyle. One with a skateboard, one with his hands, one with his feet, one with his gun,” Richards said.