Kyle Rittenhouse trial pushed back seven months
The judge postponed the trial so both sides can have time more to prepare.
The trial for Kyle Rittenhouse — the young man who fatally shot two people and wounded a third during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin — has been postponed. The alleged gunman was originally scheduled to appear in court this month but will now face the judge and the jury in November.
On Wednesday morning (March 10), Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger asked for more time to prepare for the trial, citing his inability to sort out “a number of outstanding issues in discovery, some DNA testing and some other issues” before March 29, the initial court date.
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder granted the request, pushing back the trial start date to Nov. 1 — a move both Rittenhouse and his attorney, Mark Richards, agree with.
The judge warned both sides of more potential delays, but Richards is hoping to start trial in the fall. “We’re interested in moving this matter forward but whatever the court decides, we’ll abide by,” he said. The final pretrial hearing will be held on May 17.
Rittenhouse attended a Jacob Blake demonstration on Aug. 25 with intentions to protect a local business from potential looting and rioting. Amid the chaos, he fired at three protesters. Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber were killed; Gaige Grosskreutz survived but was severely injured.
Rittenhouse was arraigned in January on charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of reckless endangerment. He also faces a misdemeanor count of being a minor in possession of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, adding he only pulled the trigger in self-defense.
Rittenhouse is currently out on $2 million bail — money generated from a conservative-run fundraiser. He is reportedly living in an undisclosed “safe house” following several threats.