Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger 'lied to the jury's faces' in his closing statement when he said that Kyle Rittenhouse provoked the situation that saw him shoot two men dead and injure a third on August 25, 2020.
This was the startling opening to defense attorney Mark Richards' closing statements when he stood to address the court Monday afternoon.
Speaking with a furious energy he said, 'This case is not a game. It's my client's life. We don't play fast and loose with the facts, pretending that Mr. Rosenbaum was citizen A, number one guy.
'He was a bad man. He was there that night causing trouble. He was a rioter. And my client had to deal with him that night alone.'
Richards went onto accuse Binger of raising the notion of that Rittenhouse had 'provoked' events as a desperate measure – brought in 'when the case explodes in his face.'
Standing to face the jury he said bluntly, 'Mr. Rosenbaum was shot because he was chasing my client and going to kill him and take his gun and carry out the threats he had made.'
Defense attorney Mark Richards began closing statements Monday afternoon claiming Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger 'lied to the jury's faces'
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger told the jury Rittenhouse was looking for the 'thrill' of telling people what to do, 'running around with an AR-15' with 'neither the honor nor the legal right to do so'. Binger held Rittenhouse's AR-15 aloft as he spoke, pointing it on the corner of the court.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and other counts for killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz
This comes after the prosecution's closing arguments where Binger told the jury Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha 'expecting and anticipating violence' on the night of August 25, 2020.
He se said Rittenhouse was looking for the 'thrill' of telling people what to do, 'running around with an AR-15' with 'neither the honor nor the legal right to do so'.
Urging the jury to 'keep an open mind,' he said, 'In America it's hard these days. There's polarization, but this is not a political case and there's common ground here.
'I asked you at the beginning of this to raise your hand if you think human life is more important than property.
'We can also agree that no one person's life is more important than another. All life is sacred.'
Now that they have heard all the testimony and all the evidence, Binger told the jury, 'It's time to search for the truth.'
In a chilling moment Binger moved to 're-enact' what he claimed was visible on blurry drone footage, controversially brought before the jury.
According to Binger, Rittenhouse can be seen placing down the fire extinguisher he was carrying, pausing and raising his gun – pointing it at an unseen person off screen.
Binger, held Rittenhouse's AR-15 aloft, as he spoke, pointing it on the corner of the court.
This, he said, was the moment Rittenhouse 'lost the right to self-defense' and 'provoked' the violence that followed.
Binger had promised that he would be replaying many of the video exhibits from the night and so he did – pointing out the narrative on which the State has insisted. It is a story in which Rittenhouse is the agitator, the aggressor, the one making the calls and taking the shots.
Binger showed the jury 'the defendant murdering Joseph Rosenbaum from three different angles:' videographer Drew Hernandez's video, drone footage and FBI surveillance footage.
He contended that at best this was a 'fist fight.' Rosenbaum was unarmed.
Binger said, 'What you don't do is you don't bring a gun to a fist fight.'
Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (left), 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020. Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber (right), 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin
What charges does Kyle Rittenhouse face?
Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two of them and wounding the third, during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. Rittenhouse has argued that he fired in self-defense after the men attacked him.
Here's a look at the charges that prosecutors carried into court, as well as lesser charges that the judge could put before the jury in final instructions:
COUNT 1: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESS HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON
This felony charge is connected to the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot. Bystander video shows Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse through a parking lot and throwing a plastic bag at him. Rittenhouse flees behind a car and Rosenbaum follows. Video introduced at trial showed Rittenhouse wheeling around and firing as Rosenbaum chased him. Richie McGinniss, a reporter who was trailing Rittenhouse, testified that Rosenbaum lunged for Rittenhouse's gun.
Reckless homicide differs from intentional homicide in that prosecutors aren't alleging Rittenhouse intended to murder Rosenbaum. Instead, they're alleging Rittenhouse caused Rosenbaum's death in circumstances showing an utter disregard for human life.
Former Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said prosecutors' decision to charge reckless instead of intentional homicide shows they don't know what happened between Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum and what might have been going through Rittenhouse's mind when he pulled the trigger.
The charge is punishable by up to 60 years in prison. The dangerous weapon modifier carries an additional five years.
Prosecutors asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to let the jury also consider a lesser charge, second-degree reckless homicide, that does not require a finding that Rittenhouse acted with utter disregard for human life. It's punishable by up to 25 years in prison. But after Rittenhouse's attorneys objected, Schroeder said he did not plan to give that instruction. He said he expected that a guilty verdict on that count would be overturned because the defense objected to adding it.
COUNT 2: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON
This felony charge is connected to the Rosenbaum shooting. McGinniss told investigators he was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum. The charge is punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier carries an additional five years.
Prosecutors asked Schroeder to let the jury consider a second-degree version of this charge. The difference is that the second-degree version doesn't require a finding that Rittenhouse acted with utter disregard for human life. Schroeder said he was inclined to allow that instruction, though he didn't make a final ruling. The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
COUNT 3: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON
Video shows an unknown man leaping at Rittenhouse and trying to kick him seconds before Anthony Huber moves his skateboard toward him. Rittenhouse appears to fire two rounds at the man but apparently misses as the man runs away.
This charge is a felony punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier again would add up to five more years.
Schroeder said he would decline prosecutors' request that jurors be allowed to consider this charge in the second degree.
COUNT 4: FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON
This charge is connected to Huber's death. Video shows Rittenhouse running down the street after shooting Rosenbaum when he falls to the street. Huber leaps at him and swings a skateboard at his head and neck and tries to grab Rittenhouse's gun before Rittenhouse fires. The criminal complaint alleges Rittenhouse aimed the weapon at Huber.
Intentional homicide means just that - a person killed someone and meant to do it. Bucher said that if Rittenhouse pointed the gun at Huber and pulled the trigger that would amount to intentional homicide. However, self-defense would trump the charge.
'Why I intended to kill this individual makes the difference,' Bucher said.
The count carries a mandatory life sentence. The weapons modifier would add up to five years.
Prosecutors asked Schroeder to give the jury the option of second-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and second-degree reckless homicide in Huber's death. The defense objected only to the second-degree reckless homicide charge, and Schroeder said he 'embraced' that argument.
Second-degree intentional homicide is a fallback charge when a defendant believed he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that it was necessary to use force - but either belief was unreasonable. It's punishable by up to 60 years in prison.
The first-degree reckless homicide charge sought in Huber's death matches an original charge in Rosenbaum's death - it would require jurors to decide that Rittenhouse caused Huber's death with an utter disregard for human life - and is punishable by up to 60 years in prison.
COUNT 5: ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON
This is the charge for Rittenhouse shooting Gaige Grosskreutz in the arm seconds after he shot Huber, and as Grosskreutz came toward him holding a pistol. Grosskreutz survived. Video shows Rittenhouse pointing his gun at Grosskreutz and firing a single round.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 60 years. The weapons modifier would add up to five more years.
Prosecutors asked that the jury be allowed to consider lesser counts in the Grosskreutz shooting: second-degree attempted intentional homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree reckless endangerment. Defense attorneys didn't oppose the first, but did oppose adding the reckless endangerment counts. Schroeder didn't rule but said he was inclined to side with prosecutors.
The possible punishment for attempted second-degree intentional homicide is 30 years.
DISMISSED - COUNT 6: POSSESSION OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON BY A PERSON UNDER 18
Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. He was 17 years old on the night of the shootings. Wisconsin law prohibits minors from possessing firearms except for hunting. It was not clear on Friday what Schroeder intends to tell jurors about that charge.
The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months behind bars.
Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed count 6 from Rittenhouse's rap sheet Monday morning.
COUNT 7: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN EMERGENCY ORDER FROM STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Rittenhouse was charged with being out on the streets after an 8 p.m. curfew imposed by the city, a minor offense that carries a fine of up to $200. Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the charge during the second week of trial after the defense argued that prosecutors hadn't offered enough evidence to prove it.
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He dismissed Rittenhouse's claim that Rosenbaum was trying to take his gun and use it on him or other as 'cockamamie'
He said, 'You lose the right to self-defense when you're the one bringing the gun.'
In an odd moment of grandstanding Binger told the court to ignore talk of Joshua Ziminski – a man whom he has repeatedly referenced during the trial and the one who fired a shot moments before Rittenhouse turned and shot Rosenbaum.
Now Binger said he planned to 'carve Ziminski out of this case,' he was 'a red herring.'
He added, 'I'll deal with him at his arson trial in January.'
Where the defense has made much of the speed at which events happened – all four shots were fired within 0.76 seconds – Binger said that the ferocious pace made Rittenhouse more culpable.
He said, 'He doesn't get a pass by pulling the trigger fast. He could have stopped after the first shot.'
Instead, he said, he 'tracks Mr. Rosenbaum's body down,' shooting as he fell.
He said, 'No-one else made him do it.'
Binger's voice rose, shrill as he said that the only way the jury could find self-defense was, 'If you believe that Joseph Rosenbaum was reaching for the defendant's gun.
'And that a reasonable person in the defendant's position, with the AR-15 strapped to his chest, would think that Joseph Rosenbaum was even capable of taking the gun away, as he's falling to the ground with a fractured pelvis.
'And then that Joseph Rosenbaum was going to turn the gun around and kill the defendant. And other people.
'You'd have to find all of those things.'
For the first time during the entire trial demonstrators could be heard outside the courtroom as Binger rose to continue his closing statement Monday afternoon.
Several onlookers in court turned towards the windows, puzzled by the commotion. But it was not possible to make out what was being shouted below and the court's view was blocked by heavy blinds.
Kyle Rittenhouse is seen with his AR-15 patrolling the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin on the night he killed two men and injured a third
Attorney Thomas Binger enters the courtroom at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday
Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed count 6 from Rittenhouse's rap sheet – illegal possession of a firearm
As he continued his closing statements Binger sought to paint two of the men shot by Rittenhouse as 'heroes' and to dismiss the notion that Rosenbaum was ever any sort of threat, describing him as nothing but a 'little dog.'
'Bark, bark, bark!,' he said, 'He really ain't going to do anything.'
Showing close-up and graphic images of Grosskreutz's shredded bicep Binger said,' 'It's hard to look at but this is what we're dealing with. When you fire an AR-15.
'I guarantee you the defendant had no clue what his gun was capable of, he didn't concern himself what he would be doing to other people.
'Let's not flinch away from
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