A jury on Friday found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges in connection with the Kenosha shootings that left two men dead and one injured last year.
Rittenhouse, 18, who previously lived in Antioch, was found not guilty on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
The jury returned the verdict around 12 p.m. Friday following approximately 25 hours of deliberations.
Rittenhouse trembled and broke down in tears while the verdict was being read and then dropped to the desk.
The trial came to a close 18 days after it started on November 1.
Rittenhouse had originally faced seven different charges, but Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed two of them before the jury began deliberations.
One of the dismissals came Monday morning when 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 Monday evening.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger had painted Rittenhouse as a “fraud” and “active shooter.”
Binger argued 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 during closing arguments.
Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, on August 25, 2020, near 63rd Street and Sheridan Road in Kenosha during civil unrest sparked by the Jacob Blake police-involved shooting.
Rittenhouse also shot Gaige Grosskreutz, who was holding a handgun, on the night of August 25, 2020.
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 on Monday.