KENOSHA, Wis. — Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand in his own defense on day eight of his murder trial. It was a bit of an unexpected move from the defense to put Rittenhouse on the stand so early in presenting its case. The defense has three other witnesses they intend to call on, but Rittenhouse himself is by far the biggest witness the team has.
Earlier Wednesday, he told the jury he was under attack when he shot three men during a night of turbulent protests in Kenosha.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “I defended myself,” he said.
Rittenhouse, from Illinois, is charged with killing two people and wounding a third during a police brutality protest in Kenosha, Wis., last year.
Rittenhouse faces several counts, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, in the Aug. 25, 2020, deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, could face life in prison if convicted on the first-degree homicide charge.
He traveled across the state border from his home in Illinois to Kenosha, during protests in the city following the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by a white police officer. The case is polarizing across the political spectrum, with some seeing him as a vigilante, and others portraying him as a patriot who acted in self-defense.
The 18-year-old Rittenhouse sobbed so hard at one point that the judge declared a break. But otherwise, he was composed on the stand.
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