Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyer, L. Lin Wood, is claiming that his teen client, who was arrested after murdering two people and injuring one with a semit automatic rifle, was defending himself. The lawyer referred to newly-emerged video that appears to reveal that the only shooting survivor, Gaige Grosskreutz, was in possession of a handgun.
"'Video eye' does not lie. Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Murder charges are factually unsupportable. An egregious miscarriage of justice is occurring with respect to this 17-year old boy. I love truth & justice. I deplore lies & injustice. Had those feelings ALL my life", Wood tweeted Friday.
The newly-released video, shared in social media, shows Rittenhouse sitting on the ground cradling a rifle, and a person later reportedly identified as Gaige Grosskreutz approaching him. Rittenhouse then shoots Grosskreutz, who has a gun in his hand. The New York Post attached a picture to the video, showing a pistol, clearly visible, in his hand.
#KyleRittenhouse Self Defense
— 🔥Bull Run Wonka🔥 XRP 📈 (@WillyWonkaXRP) August 28, 2020
pic.twitter.com/jFNFd9tlSy
According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and seriously wounded Grosskreutz during the protests in the city of Kenosha sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake by an officer.
The criminal complaint released Thursday said that Rittenhouse had been followed by Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, into a used car lot. There, Rosenbaum tried to throw a plastic bag at him, and then was said to try to grab Rittenhouse's gun before being shot. Then, Rittenhouse shot Huber, who approached Rosenbaum who was lying on the ground.
The court documents cite Richard McGinnis, a Daily Caller reporter who interviewed Rittenhouse before the shooting and was said to have witnessed the incident.
"McGinnis said that he [Rosenbaum] definitely made a motion that he was trying to grab the barrel of the gun. McGinnis stated that the defendant pulled it away and then raised it. McGinnis stated that right as they came together, the defendant fired,” the complaint said.
The video of Rittenhouse's interview emerged on social media as well, revealing him standing with his gun and explaining that he arrived to help the locals to defend their property from protesters.
According to the complaint, Rittenhouse made a call and said that he had committed a murder.
"The defendant appears to get on his cell phone and place a call. Another male approaches, and the defendant turns and begins to run away from the scene. As the defendant is running away, he can be heard saying on the phone, “I just killed somebody”, according to the complaint.
Rittenhouse was arrested in Illinois late Wednesday and charged with six criminal counts, including first-degree murder.
The killings took place amid a series of protests, some violent, spanning Wisconsin's city of Kenosha after a video of a white police officer shooting a black man named Jacob Blake in the back emerged. Blake, according to police, is charged with domestic abuse and rape. According to the victim's family, Blake, who survived the shooting, is now paralyzed from the waist down.
