Judge Delays Extradition Of Teen Charged With Shooting Protesters In Kenosha
A judge overseeing the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused in the deadly shooting of protesters in Kenosha, Wis., has agreed to postpone his extradition from Illinois to give him more time to hire a legal team.
Rittenhouse, who lives in Antioch, Ill., was arrested there on Wednesday. He was charged on Thursday in Kenosha County with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Anthony Huber, 26, according to the criminal complaint. He is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the wounding of a third person – 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz.
Rittenhouse allegedly crossed the border into Wisconsin from his hometown on the third night of protests in Kenosha against the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Blake was shot in the back seven times at close range by a Kenosha police officer on Sunday.
According to the criminal complaint, Rittenhouse used an AR-15-type rifle in the shootings, which were caught on video and widely circulated on social media.
Rittenhouse is also charged with misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon below the legal age of 18. He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of intentional homicide.
Rittenhouse was not present at Friday's livestreamed hearing in Waukegan, Ill., which lasted less than 10 minutes and where the judge delayed his extradition to Wisconsin until Sept. 25.
The Milwaukee Sentinel reports that Rittenhouse is being represented by a team of attorneys led by L. Lin Wood, known for helping Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann sue major media companies, such as CNN and The Washington Post.
A spokesman for the Lake County, Ill., state's attorney said the defendant also plans to hire Los Angeles-based attorney John Pierce, whose clients have included President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former Trump adviser Carter Page, according to Reuters. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
