Illinois Teen Charged in Protest Slayings Posts $2M Bail

A 17-year-old from Illinois who is charged with killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin posted $2 million bail and was released from custody.

  • Published 20 November 2020
This undated booking photo from the Antioch (Illinois) Police Department shows Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with fatally shooting two men and injuring a third during protest in Kenosha, Wis., in late August. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Wendy Rittenhouse said neither her son nor the protesters should have been on the street that night and put much of the blame for what happened on police and the governor. “The police should have helped the businesses out instead of having a 17-year-old kid helping him," she said. “The police should have been involved with these people that lost their businesses. They should have stepped up." (Antioch Police Department/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Image via Antioch Police Department/Chicago Tribune via AP

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KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A 17-year-old from Illinois who is charged with killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin and whose case has become a rallying cry for some conservatives posted $2 million bail Friday and was released from custody.

Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during a demonstration Aug. 25 that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He posted bond through his attorney at about 2 p.m., Kenosha County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Wright said.

Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, told police he was attacked while he was guarding a business and that he fired in self-defense.

He faces multiple charges, including intentional homicide, reckless endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm. Wisconsin law doesn’t permit minors to carry or possess a gun unless they’re hunting. He is due back in court on Dec. 3 for a preliminary hearing.

His case has taken on political overtones. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have painted Rittenhouse as a trigger-happy white supremacist. Conservatives upset over property destruction during recent protests have portrayed him as a patriot exercising his right to bear arms during unrest. A legal defense fund for him has attracted millions of dollars in donations, and his mother got a standing ovation from women at a Waukesha County GOP function in September.

Huber’s father, John Huber, asked Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Loren Keating during a hearing Nov. 2 to set Rittenhouse’s bail between $4 million and $10 million. Huber said Rittenhouse thinks he’s above the law and noted the effort to raise money on his behalf. He also suggested militia groups would hide him from police if he were released.

Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, asked for $750,000 bail.

Keating ultimately set bail at $2 million, saying Rittenhouse was a flight risk given the seriousness of the charges against him.