Judge Denies Request to Increase Bail for Kyle Rittenhouse

A Wisconsin Judge ruled not to increase Kyle Rittenhouse’s bail after prosecutors alleged Rittenhouse violated his bail agreement by not providing the court with an updated address.  

Kenosha circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder also denied the prosecution’s request to issue an arrest warrant for Rittenhouse. 

This bond hearing was held virtually on Feb. 11. 

Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three men – Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum were killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz was injured – on Aug. 5 in Kenosha during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. The shooting occured after 8 p.m. when the city had issued a curfew. 

Schroeder heard arguments from the prosecution including prosecution lawyer Thomas Binger, John Huber father of Anthony Huber, Gaige Grosskreutz, and Kimberley Motley, an attorney for the Rosenbaum estate.  

When Schroeder gave his decision to deny increased bail and an arrest warrant for Rittenhouse, Huber flipped off his camera. Huber also held up notebook paper with writing on it but the writing was not clear enough to be read over Zoom. 

Rittenhouse’s facial expressions remained unchanged throughout the entirety of the hearing. 

Before Huber gave his statement, Schroeder asked him to remove his mask so sound quality would be better. 

Huber said, “I’ll remove mine if he removes his,” in reference to Rittenhouse sitting behind his lawyer wearing a mask while his lawyer is not. Huber then removed his mask and spoke. 

“We lost a son. His mom and I lost our son,” said Huber. “How would you feel if the killer of your son was able to walk free and make videos in bars and live it up.” 

Huber is referring to videos and pictures of Rittenhouse in a Wisconsin bar drinking with his mother and a group of men affiliated with the alt-right group the Proud Boys. Rittenhouse was wearing a shirt that had “Free as F***” written on it. 

Rittenhouse failed to inform the court that the address he had given them was not his current residence. This was discovered when mail sent to Rittenhouse’s former address was returned to the sender. 

This violation of the bail agreement prompted Binger to request an increase of bail by $200,000 and issue an arrest warrant for Rittenhouse. 

“This is a very unusual situation to have someone facing these types of charges released from custody,” said Binger. 

Binger argued that the arrest warrant was necessary to make sure the bail was paid. 

“I think the court has to issue a warrant for his arrest to make him do that because otherwise there is nothing compelling him to post that money,” said Binger. 

Rittenhouse’s original bail was $2 million which was paid for by donations from across the country. 

“It’s not like his mom and dad put up the family house to get him out, he has nothing to lose if he runs, nothing to lose,” said Huber. 

Motley, Huber, and Grosskreutz all asked the court to raise Rittenhouse’s bail to $4 million. 

During her statement Motley said, “He should be giving his address. That is a basic requirement that I have seen as a criminal defense attorney so why he feels that he doesn’t have to give his address is beyond me.” 

Richards said that the piece of mail that had been returned was for Rittenhouse’s arraignment and even though that piece of mail was returned, that Rittenhouse still showed up on time to his arraignment. 

“He’s made all his court appearances, he knows the court wants to up his bail and he is here today,” said Richards. 

Throughout the hearing, Schroeder repeatedly interrupted both the prosecution and defense teams. For example, Binger had started to say that there had been public outcry on raising Rittenhouse’s bail.

Binger said, “There was a protest last weekend in the community asking us to-” 

“No no no no no no I don’t want to hear about protests,” Schroeder said. 

Schroeder also did not allow anyone present in the hearing to use the terms, “victim” or “alleged victim” while talking about the three people Rittenhouse is accused of shooting. Instead they were referred to as the “deceased”. 

Schroeder ruled that Rittenhouse would have to give his address to the court and that it would be kept off the public record. Rittenhouse was not required to give the prosecution his address. It was unclear why. 

“This is a murder case and we are entitiled to this information your honor we have never been denied this information in any case that I have ever heard of,” said Binger. 

Schroeder argued that his reasoning for not increasing bail and issuing an arrest warrant was because he feared potential violence or property damages to the court. 

“You remember what went on six months ago here,” said Schroeder. 

It is assumed that Schroeder is referencing the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer of 2020 that did see some property damages across cities including Kenosha.