Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse ordered to stand trial

Kyle Rittenhouse was ordered Thursday to stand trial in the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of another in August during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Rittenhouse appeared in a preliminary hearing via video conference, seated next to his attorney, whose motions to dismiss some of the pending charges against his client were denied by the court. He removed a mask over his nose and mouth at one point in the hearing while seated in his lawyer’s office.

Rittenhouse faces charges that he killed Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz during protests that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.

Kenosha County Commissioner Loren Keating, after hearing the testimony of a detective on the case, said the state had presented enough probable cause of felonies committed by the young man for the case to proceed to trial.

Rittenhouse will be arraigned January 5 in Kenosha County Circuit Court.

The 17-year-old faces two felony charges of homicide in the death of Rosenbaum and Huber, and a felony attempted homicide charge in the wounding of Grosskreutz.

Riettenhouse also is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18, a misdemeanor, according to court records.

During the hearing, Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, accused prosecutors of presenting “a one-sided, stilted view” of events that night.

Richards introduced screenshots of surveillance video that he said showed his client acted in self-defense while being chased by a gun-toting protester. In another image, Rittenhouse appeared to be struck with a skateboard while on the ground.

Richards said the state had embarked on a “chaotic quest but the evidence is clear.”

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said the state presented evidence showing Rittenhouse had committed a felony, and the question of self-defense was an issue for trial.

Binger also argued against Richards’ attempt to dismiss the charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under the age of 18, saying the teen “went running around the streets of Kenosha after curfew with a very dangerous weapon.”

“We don’t trust them (minors) with these weapons because of exactly what happened in this case,” Binger said.

Keating agreed that the issues raised by the defense should be taken up at trial.

Before Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors filed a motion opposing the admission of two out-of-state attorneys — John Pierce and Andrew Calderon — to the Rittenhouse defense team. Keating said the matter could be decided at a later date.

After the hearing, however, Richards told CNN that Pierce and Calderon will withdraw from the criminal case. He said the decision was made jointly after consultation with Rittenhouse.

Richards said he will handle the criminal case.

Grosskreutz, the sole shooting survivor, attended the hearing via teleconference.

Rittenhouse was released from custody after posting $2 million in bail earlier this month. Attorney Lin Wood said in a tweet that Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow Inc., and actor Ricky Schroder helped raise the “required $2M cash bail” for Rittenhouse.