Judge in Rittenhouse Trial Will Not Allow Jury to Consider Lesser Charge in Shooting

The judge in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse said on Friday he would not allow the jury to consider a lesser charge in the shooting of Joseph Rosenbaum, one of two men the defendant is charged with killing during racial justice protests in Wisconsin.

Prosecutors were seeking approval for the jury to consider lesser charges after days of testimony in which considerable evidence was presented to support the teenager's argument that he acted in self-defense.

Rittenhouse, 18, is charged in the killing of Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020 during protests that followed the shooting of a Black man by police. Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty.

The defense lawyers rested their case on Thursday after calling their final witness, a video journalist who testified that one of the men Rittenhouse fatally shot had charged and lunged at the teenager, who was 17 at the time of the shootings.

Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder said closing arguments in the trial would begin on Monday. He said the prosecution and defense would each have 2-1/2 hours to address the jury.