The prosecution in the Kyle Rittenhouse case implicated the teenager of being “too afraid to use his own fists” when an angered rioter and subsequent mob attacked him.
During the rebuttal on Monday, soon after the Rittenhouse defense offered the jury its closing arguments, Assistant District Lawyer James Kraus repeated lead district attorney Thomas Binger’s line that Rittenhouse unfairly brought a weapon to a fistfight:
Plainly, if there is a provocation, he is guilty. But even outside of provocation, why do you get to right away simply start shooting. As Mr. Binger said, he brought a weapon to a fistfight and he was too cowardly to utilize his own fists to combat his way out. He has to start shooting.
Kenosha
Assistant DA says Kyle Rittenhouse “brought a weapon to a fist battle. He was too afraid to use his own fists to eliminate his escape. He needed to begin shooting.”
What the real fuck is this trial pic.twitter.com/ng2PW0oH5r
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 15, 2021
Kraus had actually followed up on a previous line of argumentation from Thomas Binger, who lit up the web when he used an image from the 1980s Patrick Swayze motion picture Roadway House:
Let’s presume for a minute, yeah, Joseph Rosenbaum is chasing the accused since he wants to do some physical damage to him. He’s an unarmed male. This is a bar battle. This is a fistfight. This is a fight that maybe much of you have been involved in. 2 people. Hand to hand. Who are throwing punches or pushing or pushing or whatever.
“However what you don’t do, is you do not bring a gun to a fistfight,” Binger included.
PROSECUTION: “This is a bar battle. This is a fistfight … What you don’t do is you don’t bring a weapon to a fistfight.” pic.twitter.com/TQ22DpkhL2
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 15, 2021
On August 25, 2020, then-17-year-old Rittenhouse traveled up from Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, throughout the riots over the authorities shooting of Jacob Blake, wanting to help a regional company owner in safeguarding his vehicle dealership that had actually suffered $1.5 million in damages.
As the night unfolded, Rittenhouse, equipped with an AR-15, was apparently assaulted by rioters, throughout which time he fatally shot 2 people and wounded one. Several witnesses have actually testified that Rittenhouse fired his weapon only after being pursued, with one prosecution witness admitting that Rittenhouse shot him just after he had actually pointed a weapon at the minor.
After closing arguments on Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the jury for the night; they are expected to start consideration on Tuesday early morning. Need To Kyle Rittenhouse be found guilty of intentional homicide, he might face life in jail.