KENOSHA, Wis. (Reuters) – Here is a timeline tracing the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, a U.S. teenager who is on trial for killing two men and wounding a third with a military-style rifle during protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Aug. 23, 2020 – A white police officer responding to a domestic dispute in Kenosha shoots Jacob Blake seven times at close range, paralyzing the Black man and setting off protests.
Aug. 25, 2020 – As Kenosha braces for a third night of protests, Rittenhouse, then 17, takes his rifle and joins other armed men on the streets. Rittenhouse says he was asked to help guard a used-car dealership. Shortly before midnight, Rittenhouse fatally shoots Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, after Rosenbaum appears to have chased him and tried to grab his rifle, according to video evidence. As he runs down the street, Rittenhouse shoots and kills Anthony Huber, 26, who was swinging a skateboard at him, and shoots Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27, in the arm. Grosskreutz, who was holding a pistol at the time of the shooting, survives.
Aug. 27-28, 2020 – Kenosha County district attorney charges Rittenhouse with six criminal counts, including reckless and intentional homicides. Rittenhouse, who turned himself in on Aug. 26, is held in custody in his home state Illinois. Atlanta-based attorney Lin Wood says video evidence would vindicate Rittenhouse, showing he acted in self-defense. Wood begins soliciting donations through a non-profit and within a month collects nearly $2 million. Wood and another lawyer portray Rittenhouse as a patriot and tie him to the issue of gun rights.
Oct. 30, 2020 – Rittenhouse is extradited to Wisconsin.
Nov. 20, 2020 – John Pierce, then an attorney for Rittenhouse, posts $2 million cash bail. Rittenhouse is released.
Jan. 5, 2021 – Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley finds officer Rusten Sheskey acted in self-defense in shooting Blake, saying Blake was armed with a knife and had resisted arrest. That same day Rittenhouse pleads not guilty to all counts in a video appearance at Kenosha County Circuit Court.
Nov. 1, 2021 – Jury selection begins in the Rittenhouse trial.
Nov. 2, 2021 – Trial begins with opening statements.
Nov. 3, 2021 – Jurors see graphic videos showing the chaotic moments after Rittenhouse shot three protesters.
Nov. 4, 2021 – One juror is dismissed for telling a joke to a sheriff’s deputy outside the courtroom about the police shooting of Blake.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Editing by Howard Goller and Lisa Shumaker)
