Closing arguments conclude in Kyle Rittenhouse trial

The 12 jurors who will deliberate the case and reach a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial have been selected.

This morning, before deliberations begin, six of the 18 jurors who heard the case were selected during a lottery held in the courtroom. The 18 potential jurors heard the evidence and testimony in the case so that alternates were available if jurors needed to be dismissed.

All the jurors' numbers were loaded into a tumbler and mixed around. Defendant Kyle Rittenhouse selected six numbers from the batch.

"All of the jurors' numbers have been exhibited to the defendant, I believe. They're paper clipped together now. Please put them in the tumbler and we'll rotate it and the defendant will draw six of the numbers," Judge Bruce Schroeder said.

The jurors whose numbers he selected were sent out of the courtroom. They will continue to serve as alternates. The clerk read off their numbers after Rittenhouse made his selections.

"As I call your number, please stand up. Number 11. Number 58. Number 14. Number 45. Number 9. Number 52. Then if you'll follow the bailiff into the back room," the clerk said.

The 12 jurors are now beginning deliberations in the case. The alternates will remain at the courthouse during deliberations.

The jury in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse will begin deliberations today.

The panel of 18 jurors, eight men and 10 women, will be narrowed down to the 12 by a random drawing using a raffle tumbler this morning. The 12 jurors selected randomly will then deliberate the case.

On Monday, jurors were asked to report back to court at 10 a.m. ET today.

Kyle Rittenhouse provoked the fatal shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year by pointing his AR-15-style weapon at Joseph Rosenbaum, prosecutors said Monday in closing arguments of his homicide trial.

"That is what provokes this entire incident," prosecutor Thomas Binger said. "When the defendant provokes this incident, he loses the right to self-defense. You cannot claim self-defense against a danger you create."

In response, defense attorney Mark Richards said Rittenhouse did not act recklessly when he fatally shot Rosenbaum, who Richards argued had threatened him, chased him, thrown a plastic bag at him and lunged for his gun.

"When my client shot Joseph Rosenbaum, he feared for his life. He feared because of his prior threats, prior statements and the violent acts that had been witnessed by my client," Richards said.

The dueling closing arguments, which took up most of Monday, came at the end of a two-week trial highlighted by emotional and illuminating testimony from Rittenhouse himself, who said he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Rosenbaum.

A crowd of people then pursued the teenager, and Rittenhouse testified he shot in self-defense at a man who tried to kick him; fatally shot Anthony Huber, who had hit him with a skateboard; and shot Gaige Grosskreutz, who was armed with a pistol. Rosenbaum and Huber were killed, and Grosskreutz was wounded.

The group of 18 jurors will be narrowed to 12 this morning and will then begin deliberating in the case.

Earlier Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed a misdemeanor weapons charge against Rittenhouse, now 18. He still faces five felony charges and, if convicted on the most serious charge, could face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Schroeder also read a set of legal instructions to the jury members and informed them they will be allowed to consider lesser included offenses for two of the five counts.

The trial featured more than a dozen videos from the night of August 25, 2020, showing what happened before, during and after the shootings. Most of the facts of what happened that night were not up for debate — rather, the heart of the trial was the analysis of Rittenhouse's actions and whether they can be considered "reasonable."

The prosecution rested its case last Tuesday and the defense rested Friday.

Both the prosecution and defense delivered their closing arguments Monday in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who faces homicide charges in the fatal shooting during protests last summer following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. 

Prosecutors argued Rittenhouse had a part in creating the volatile and dangerous situation in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020 and said he had multiple opportunities to either flee to safety or use non-lethal means of defense.

Rittenhouse's defense team, meanwhile, argued Rittenhouse's actions were justified, saying he had been under assault from the victims he shot.

The jury will begin deliberations on Tuesday, Judge Bruce Schroeder told the court Monday evening. The panel of 18 jurors — 8 men and 10 women — will be narrowed down to the 12 who will deliberate the case by a random drawing using a raffle tumbler Tuesday morning. 

Jurors were asked to report back to court at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow.

If you're just catching up, here's what happened in court Monday:

• Judge dismisses gun charge against Rittenhouse: Schroeder dismissed Count 6 of the indictment against Rittenhouse, a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. The charge was punishable by up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
• Prosecutors argue Rittenhouse can’t claim self-defense on "a danger you create": The assistant district attorney argued that video shows that Rittenhouse provoked the fatal encounter with Rosenbaum, and suggested he should never been at protests armed because it wasn't a situation in which he was "protecting his home or his family." 
• Prosecutors say Rittenhouse could have fled: Prosecutor Thomas Binger said during his closing argument that Rittenhouse should have continued to run away instead of shooting Rosenbaum.
• Prosecutors say Rittenhouse lied to the press and bystanders: Binger called Rittenhouse "a fraud" who lied to the press, saying that he was a certified EMT. He also accused Rittenhouse of lying to bystanders after shooting Rosenbaum by claiming the victim "pulled a gun."
• Defense accuses prosecution of "lying": Early in it's closing statements, the defense argued prosecutors had mischaracterized Rittenhouse's role in the violence in Kenosha telling the jury that the Binger was "lying" and "misrepresenting" the evidence when he said the defendant provoked violence. Defense attorney Mark Richards said Rittenhouse "was taking off" when shooting victim Rosenbaum and others started chasing him.
• Defense says Rittenhouse was under attack: Richards said that before Rittenhouse shot Anthony Huber, the shooting victim "strikes him in the head" and was going for a "second lick." He also said Rosenbaum was "leaping" and "lunging" at Rittenhouse when he shot him.
• Defense points at victims and protesters: The defense also made a number of statements about those present at the protests, calling them rioters and saying that Gaige Grosskreutz, who was shot and wounded that night, should have "retreated" and not confronted Rittenhouse.

The jury in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse will begin deliberations on Tuesday, Judge Bruce Schroeder told the court Monday evening, following a full day of instructions and closing arguments in the case.

The panel of 18 jurors — 8 men and 10 women — will be narrowed down to the 12 who will deliberate the case by a random drawing using a raffle tumbler Tuesday morning. 

Jurors were asked to report back to court at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday.

Following the end of closing arguments, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder told the jurors they must "determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty as to each of the offenses charged or submitted."

"You will disregard the claims or opinions of any other person or news media or social networking site. You will pay no heed to the opinions of anyone — even the President of the United States or the President before him," he said.

Deliberations in the Kyle Rittenhouse case will begin tomorrow. Rittenhouse, the armed Illinois teenager who killed two people and wounded another during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer, is on trial on homicide charges.

Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus concluded his rebuttal for the state by saying Kyle Rittenhouse's actions could not be considered reasonable self-defense.

"The defense's whole case has been trying to stoke sympathy for Mr. Rittenhouse and showing how everybody else was a terrible person," said Kraus, bringing his rebuttal of the defense's closing argument to a close.

"The only imminent threat that night was Mr. Rittenhouse," he concluded. "He was not acting in legal, justified self-defense. He is guilty."

As closing arguments spilled into Monday evening in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, "the attention of jurors waned," according to a pool reporter in court. Some were seen "fidgeting, shifting in their jury-box chairs” and “their eyes surveying the courtroom."

As prosecutor James Kraus continues his rebuttal, several jurors were seen resting their hands on their chins or rubbing their eyes. "At least one seemed to struggle to stay awake," according to the pool reporter. 

Kraus' rebuttal is ongoing.

Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus began the rebuttal for the state saying it was unreasonable for Kyle Rittenhouse to respond to threats by using deadly force.

"It certainly cannot be reasonable for someone to be holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle with powerful ammunition and be chased by someone who is unarmed who's smaller than him, who's shorter than him and the first thing you do to defend yourself is you plug four rounds into him," said Kraus.

Prosecutors told the court earlier they estimated their rebuttal remarks would last about 30 minutes.

Kraus went on to argue that the perceived threat to Rittenhouse's did not meet the standard under Wisconsin law that would justify the use of deadly force.

"The standard is the defendant may intentionally use force, which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm, such as firing an AR-15, only if the defendant reasonably believed that the force used was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself," said Kraus.

Kraus said Rittenhouse should have "exhausted all methods" of self-defense before shooting.

"Punch him in the face, kick him in the testicles, knee him in the face, hit him with your gun," he said. "You don't just immediately get to shoot someone ... It is not reasonable for any adult ... to not try and defend yourself first using other methods."