Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who shot and killed two men and wounded another as violent protests against police brutality swept through Kenosha, Wis., last year, was acquitted of all charges Friday in a closely watched case that has amplified national debate over vigilantism and law and order.
As the verdict was read for each count, the 18-year-old quivered, sobbed and — on the fifth and final “not guilty” — fell to his knees.
He faced charges including intentional homicide and reckless endangerment for the August 2020 shootings.
It took the jurors — seven women and five men — three days to reach their decision inside a downtown Kenosha courthouse, a capstone to a two-week-long trial that reignited the charged politics of the Trump era.
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Kyle Rittenhouse after the verdicts.
(Sean Krajacic / Kenosha News)
Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, reacts to the verdicts.
(Sean Krajacic / Kenosha News)
Judge Bruce Schroeder in court in Kenosha.
(Sean Krajacic / Kenosha News)
Kyle Rittenhouse on the night he shot three men, killing two, on Aug. 25, 2020.
(Adam Rogan / Journal Times )
An armed Kyle Rittenhouse and an injured man on a street in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020.
(Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
From left, Kariann Swart, Joseph Rosenbaum’s fiancee; Susan Hughes, Anthony Huber’s great-aunt; and Hannah Gittings, Anthony Huber’s girlfriend, listen as Kyle Rittenhouse is found not guilty on all counts. Rosenbaum and Huber were shot and killed by Rittenhouse.
(Sean Krajacic / Kenosha News)
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A woman recites poetry outside the Kenosha County Courthouse on Friday.
(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
Protesters argue outside the Kenosha County Courthouse on Friday.
(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
Bishop Tavis Grant consoles Hannah Gittings, girlfriend of Anthony Huber, who was fatally shot by Kyle Rittenhouse.
(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
Erick Jordan walks down a street with a rifle offering protection near a news conference on Friday in Kenosha.
(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
Brandon Lesco, a supporter of Kyle Rittenhouse, holds a sign saying “Free Kyle” outside the Kenosha County Courthouse on Friday.
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