National Guard troops were preparing for action Wednesday 60 miles north of Kenosha as the world waits for a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse double murder case.
DailyMail.com watched as troops swung batons and practiced maneuvers with clear plastic shields at an Army National Guard battery in Sussex, Wisconsin.
As a watery sun shone down on the bleak, open field, some 25 guardsmen gathered around 10.30am preparing for whatever may happen on the streets of Kenosha once the verdict is brought in.
Secrecy has surrounded the exact whereabouts of the National Guard for 'security purposes' after Dairy State Governor Tony Evers activated them on Friday of last week.
They will not deploy to Kenosha unless local police say they are needed.
DailyMail.com saw as National Guard troops swung batons and practiced maneuvers with clear plastic shields at an Army National Guard battery in Sussex, Wisconsin, just 60 miles north of Kenosha
National Guard troops are seen preparing for action Wednesday 60 miles north of Kenosha as the world waits for a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse double murder case
The troops were seen preparing in Sussex at the headquarters of the 1st Battalion 121st field artillery, known as The Iron Brigade
About 25 guardsmen gathered around 10.30am preparing for whatever may happen on the streets of Kenosha once the jury comes to a verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial
They will not deploy to Kenosha unless local police say they are needed and it will take the soldiers a little over an hour to reach Kenosha
The governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, said on Monday that 500 Wisconsin Army National Guard troops are reporting for active duty to support local law enforcement agencies
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
But they could be clearly seen in Sussex at the headquarters of the 1st Battalion 121st field artillery, known as The Iron Brigade.
Evers called up 500 troops, many more than the 125 he initially deployed in Kenosha in August last year when riots broke out after Joseph Blake was shot seven times in the back and side, leaving him paralyzed.
Evers, a first-term Democrat, later brought in 125 more, but by then Kenosha, a city of 100,000 people, the fourth largest in the state, was ablaze.
It was during those disturbances, two days after Blake's shooting, that Rittenhouse, then 17, shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and seriously injured Gaige Grosskreutz, 26.
The teen had traveled to Kenosha from his home in Antioch, Illinois with his AR-15 assault rifle. He claimed he was there to give medical assistance to anyone injured in the unrest and to protect property from rioters.
If the decision comes to deploy, it will take the soldiers a little over an hour to reach Kenosha.
The lakeside city is on edge again fearing the worst when the jury brings in its verdict against Rittenhouse. Whether he is found guilty on all charges, not guilty or a combination of the two, residents fear more violence is almost inevitable.
A supporter of Kyle Rittenhouse, left, argues with an activist in favor of conviction, right, in front of the Kenosha County Courthouse while the jury deliberates
So far demonstrations have been muted with occasional minor skirmishes between supporters of Rittenhouse and those who believe he should be convicted
Activists in Kenosha took a knee on Tuesday night, waiting for the jury to return on Wednesday morning and resume deliberations
So far demonstrations have been muted with occasional minor skirmishes between supporters of Rittenhouse and those who believe he should be convicted.
Tensions rose outside the court in Kenosha on Wednesday afternoon when a young man wearing a F**k Kyle T-shirt, Bart Simpson backpack, and Chicago Bulls beanie was arrested after scuffling with prominent Rittenhouse supporter Emily Cahill.
The two traded insults before the man threw a sign at Cahill. He and fellow anti-Rittenhouse protestors tried to wrestle the sign back and as he was being pulled off Cahill he sucker-punched one reporter in the jaw.
Other protestors tried unsuccessfully to lead the man away and calm him down, but he then went on to strike several other people — including a DailyMail.com photographer — before being pinned to the ground and hauled away in a paddywagon.
He was heard calling for his mom as the vehicle pulled away.
The flurry of violence came after supporters of both sides had been sharing pizza as they awaited the verdict for the second day.
Kenosha Police are seen detaining protesters following an incident outside the Kenosha County Courthouse
Tensions rose outside the court in Kenosha on Wednesday afternoon when a young man wearing a F**k Kyle T-shirt, Bart Simpson backpack, and Chicago Bulls beanie was arrested after scuffling with prominent Rittenhouse supporter Emily Cahill
One activist with a megaphone, wearing a Black Lives Matter hoodie, urged on his fellow protesters, chanting: 'If Kenosha don't get it, shut it down'.
He then began chanting: 'Seven shots in the back' — a reference to Blake's shooting.
The jury in Rittenhouse's case began their deliberations on Tuesday after an intense two-week trial.
Evers begged outsiders to either
