The Kyle Rittenhouse chapter is legally closed after the shooting in Kenosha (USA). The weapon with which he killed two people is destroyed.
Kenosha – The assault rifle that American Kyle Rittenhouse used to shoot dead two men at a demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is to be destroyed. The move was approved by both prosecutors and Rittenhouse’s defense at a court hearing on Friday (01/28/2022).
As local broadcaster CBS58 reports, Rittenhouse did not appear in court. Instead, he was represented by his defense attorney Mark Richards. Richards reportedly told the court that Rittenhouse, the state and the gun’s original buyer, Dominick Black, had come to an agreement.
Officials from the Kenosha City Police Department are now working with the State Forensic Laboratory to destroy the AR-15 assault rifle, telescopic sight and magazine. Prosecutor Thomas Binger said the weapon would be destroyed in the spring. The destruction is to be recorded and the tape made available to the Rittenhouse defense afterwards.
Great interest in Kyle Rittenhouse’s assault rifle after shooting in Kenosha (USA)
Kyle Rittenhouse did not want the gun returned to Dominick Black, his attorney said. Rittenhouse’s guess: Black might have marketed the rifle as “Kyle Rittenhouse’s gun” and then sold it at a high price. “We don’t think anyone should benefit from it,” Richards said, explaining that many people in the US have inquired about purchasing the rifle.
Heavy protests broke out in Kenosha in the summer of 2020 after the African American Jacob Blake was shot several times in the back during a police operation. The case occurred in an already heated political climate, because only about three months earlier, the African American George Floyd had been killed in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis.
USA: Kenosha shots made Kyle Rittenhouse a hero in right-wing circles
Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, shot two people with the AR-15 assault rifle and injured one other. The teenager had traveled to Kenosha to protect property from looting, according to his own statements. He had always invoked the right to self-defense during the trial. The prosecution charged him with two counts of murder. In November 2021, Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges.
In conservative to right-wing extremist circles, Rittenhouse has been celebrated as a figurehead for free gun ownership since the fatal shooting. After his acquittal, Donald Trump Jr., among others, campaigned to give the shooter a new assault rifle. The Trump son said at the time: “Americans have a fundamental right to defend themselves and to bear arms.” (tvd)
