EXPLAINER: Why did judge drop Rittenhouse gun charge?

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — On the surface, it looked like prosecutors would convict Kyle Rittenhouse on at least one charge in his murder trial — being a minor in possession of a firearm. Rittenhouse was 17 when he shot three people during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. No one contested that Rittenhouse was underage with a gun. But defense experts seized on a section of the state’s law to argue it was limited to short-barreled shotguns or rifles. Some legal experts say they agree. Judge Bruce Schroeder had rejected their argument before, but had also said the statute was poorly written — and he threw it out just hours before the case went to the jury.