Demonstrators Clash Outside Courthouse Where Jury Deliberates In Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse Case
Two people were arrested Wednesday (Nov. 17) outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, amid protests while awaiting a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse homicide trial in Wisconsin, CBS Chicago reports.
A 20-year-old man was arrested for battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, while a 34-year-old female was arrested for disorderly conduct. The arrests come as crowds of demonstrators of varying sizes, from a dozen to 100, have gathered on the steps of the courthouse over the past several days.
They are a volatile mix of competing camps. Some of them support Rittenhouse while others denounce his actions. There have been reports of some protesters carrying firearms.
As the police tried to control the crowds, Gov. Tony Evers activated about 500 Wisconsin National Guard troops and placed them on standby, The New York Times reported.
“I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully,” Evers said in a statement.
Meanwhile, jury deliberations in the trial continued on Thursday. Rittenhouse faces five felony charges, the most serious of these could have him serve a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Gun rights and self-defense are at the core of this controversial case.
RELATED: Couple Who Pointed Guns at BLM Protestors in St. Louis Spotted in Wisconsin to Support Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse
The Antioch, Ill., man was 17 when he allegedly shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz during a 2020 demonstration over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha. Rittenhouse said he fired his weapon in order to defend himself from what he said was an encroaching mob.
