Closing Statements in the Rittenhouse Trial Summarized; UWM Released a Statement to Students Ahead of the Verdict

On Nov. 15 closing arguments from both the prosecution and the defense were made to the jury in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting three people during the Kenosha protests in Aug. 2020.

“This case is not a game, it is my client’s life,” said the defense attorney Mark Richards. “Pretending that Mr. Rosenbaum was citizen A, number-one guy. He was a bad man, he was there causing trouble, he was a rioter and my client had to deal with him that night alone.”

“This is a case in which a 17-year-old teenager killed two unarmed men and severely wounded a third person with an AR-15 that did not belong to him,” said prosecutor Thomas Binger. 

Two days later on Nov. 17, UW-Milwaukee issued a statement to students via email ahead of the verdict for the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.

The statement reads: “We realize the upcoming verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse may trigger strong emotions for marginalized communities, their allies and many others with a wide array of views on and off the UWM campus. Although we dont yet know what the court’s decision will be, we call upon our campus communities to be empathetic, compassionate and supportive to those of us who may be struggling. As individuals and communities, we may need time and space to process the verdict and the events leading up to it.”

The statement was released the same day that the defense requested a mistrial over a dispute about new drone evidence footage. The defense cited prejudice in the case from the prosecution. A mistrial has not been announced to be granted or denied and the jury has not yet come to a decision or verdict.

Prosecution’s Closing arguments

Binger opened his closing argument by clearing up his main facts in the case, stating that there has been a lot of “noise and static” surrounding it. 

“This isn’t a situation where he was protecting his home or his family,” Binger said. “He killed people after traveling here from Antioch, Illinois, and staying out after a citywide curfew.”

Judge Bruce Schroeder clarified that there is no longer a curfew or gun charge on the defendant. “There had been a curfew announced, that does not mean that it was technically a legal curfew,” said Schroeder.

“Although the defendant claimed to be protecting a business he wasn’t familiar with, none of the killings had anything to do with that,” said Binger. “He spent the entire evening lying that he was an EMT. None of those things are doubt in this case.”

Binger reiterated that the case isn’t about politics and that it is a matter of common ground. “All life is sacred,” said Binger.

A video was shown where others who were also protecting businesses with AR-15’s had clashes with other protesters, some of which included shoving, stating that only Rittenhouse shot people that night.

Binger stated that all of the decisions of Rittenhouse that night were reckless, particularly the fact that he brought no non-lethal means of defense so when the time came his only option was lethal force.

“You cannot hide behind self-defense if you provoked the incident, if you created the danger you forfiet the right to self defense,” said Binger.

At the end of the prosecution’s closing arguments, Binger said that Rittenhouse is guilty on all counts. “Ladies and gentleman, there is no doubt in this case that the defendant committed these crimes,” said Binger.

Defense’s Closing Arguments

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

“Kyle shot Joseph Rosenbaum to stop a threat to his person,” said Richards. “I’m glad he shot him, because if Joseph Rosenbaum had gotten that gun, I don’t for a minute believe he wouldn’t have used it against somebody else. He was irrational and crazy.” 

Richards’s statement that Rosenbaum was “irrational and crazy” is in reference to the fact that he was off his medication for mental illness at the time.

During the prosecution’s closing statements, Binger said that there was reason for people on the scene to believe Rittenhouse to be an active shooter. In response, Richards said that this is a political case, “Kyle was not an active shooter,” said Richards. “That is a buzzword that the state wants to latch onto because it excuses the actions of that mob on the 25th of August 2020.”

“We can take politics out of it as in Democrat and Republican, but the district attorney’s office is marching forward with this case because they need somebody to be responsible,” said Richards. “Kyle Rittenhouse is not that individual.”