Kyle Rittenhouse Drove Across State Lines and Ended up Killing Two Protestors

Three months after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man was shot multiple times by a white police officer. The incident occurred in Kenosha, Wis., and left the victim paralyzed from the waist down. Jacob Blake was reportedly trying to de-escalate a domestic violence dispute when he was shot seven times in the back in front of his three children. This sparked massive protests in Kenosha.

Approximately 20 miles away in Antioch, Ill., 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse watched what was unfolding from his mother's home. He was described as a "police admirer" by the Associated Press. Because Rittenhouse was too young to own a gun, he persuaded a friend to buy one for him three months prior. The AR-15 style rifle Rittenhouse used to eventually shoot at protesters was already in Kenosha the night he killed two people and injured one other. Here's what we know about his victims.

Protests had reached a fever pitch in Kenosha in August 2020, as hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown calling for the arrest of the police officer who shot Blake, per The New York Times. There was looting and destruction of property, which included setting fire to vehicles.

On night three of the protests, Rittenhouse was walking around the Kenosha County Courthouse area with his military-style semiautomatic rifle in hand. At one point, 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum began following Rittenhouse, who ran into a used car lot. Rosenbaum gave chase, which resulted in Rittenhouse shooting him four times at close range, per the Associated Press. Rosenbaum was unarmed.

Following the shooting, Rittenhouse ran toward an armored vehicle where police and National Guardsmen were stationed. He was pursued by a crowd that included Anthony Huber (26) and Gaige Grosskreutz (27). Huber was carrying a skateboard, which he used to hit Rittenhouse. That's when the 17-year-old fatally shot Huber, once in the chest. Grosskreutz aimed his gun at Rittenhouse in an effort to stop the shooting. He was also shot by Rittenhouse, but was wounded and survived.

Moments before Rittenhouse killed two people and injured another, he was interviewed by the conservative news publication The Daily Caller. In the video, Rittenhouse was asked why he was in Kenosha, in front of a building that had been burning the night before. "People are getting injured," said Rittenhouse, "and our job is to protect this business." As a reminder, Rittenhouse was 17 at the time. It's unclear what he meant when he said "our job."

Rittenhouse went on to say his job was also to help people. "If there is somebody hurt, I'm running into harm's way." According to Rittenhouse, he brought his rifle to protect himself and also had a med kit to treat any injuries. He was later arrested and charged with five felonies and a misdemeanor, including two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. The teenager pleaded not guilty and was acquitted in November 2021.