A look at key points in Kyle Rittenhouse closing arguments

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MADISON, Wis. – Attorneys successful Kyle Rittenhouse's execution proceedings sparred for the past clip Monday during closing arguments, with prosecutors coating Rittenhouse arsenic an inexperienced instigator and defence lawyers insisting the Illinois antheral fired successful self-defense.

Rittenhouse changeable and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz during thoroughfare unrest successful Kenosha, Wisconsin, successful August 2020. He has claimed self-defense, portion prosecutors person argued helium was an inexperienced and overmatched teen who provoked unit by showing up with a rifle.

Here are immoderate takeaways from Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger and defence lawyer Mark Richards' closings:

“QUACK DOCTOR”

Binger painted Rittenhouse arsenic a fraud. He said Rittenhouse told radical astatine the protestation that helium was an exigency aesculapian technician erstwhile helium was truly conscionable a lifeguard.

“This is an exigency situation,” Binger said. “Everybody's anticipating violence. Everybody's prepared for radical to beryllium hurt, harmed, injured. And yet the defendant's going to spell determination and locomotion astir claiming to beryllium a medic. He's similar a quack doc practicing without a licence that puts lives astatine hazard . . . He wrapped up an ankle and I deliberation possibly helped idiosyncratic who got a chopped connected their hand. Yeah. On the different hand, helium killed 2 people, blew disconnected Gaige Grosskreutz's arm."

ACTIVE SHOOTER

Binger besides portrayed Rittenhouse arsenic an progressive shooter and said radical successful the assemblage had a close to halt him. He said Rittenhouse denied shooting Rosenbaum erstwhile Grosskreutz and different man, Jason Lackowski, asked him what happened instantly aft the shots were fired.

“The assemblage sees the suspect moving with a gun. He's lying to them. He inactive has the gun," Binger said. "It is wholly tenable for that assemblage to judge astatine that infinitesimal that helium is simply a menace to termination again. I taxable to you, ladies and gentlemen, that successful this situation, the assemblage has the close to effort and halt an progressive shooter. They person a close to support themselves. The suspect is not the lone 1 successful the satellite who has the close to self-defense.”

Richards said calling Rittenhouse an progressive shooter is “BS" and if helium didn't cognize amended helium would deliberation Binger was a “whiny defence lawyer.”

“Every idiosyncratic who was changeable was attacking Kyle: One with a skateboard, 1 with his hands, 1 with his feet, 1 with a gun,” Richards said. “My lawsuit does not person to instrumentality a beating from the hands of this mob, oregon from the hands of Mr. Rosenbaum.”

OUTSIDER

Binger tried to get jurors to spot Rittenhouse, who lived successful adjacent Antioch, Illinois, arsenic 1 of a horde of outsiders who came to Kenosha to play worker during the protest, ignoring roadblocks, curfew orders and closed interstate exits.

"These guys with the AR-15s are conscionable wannabe soldiers acting tough, trying to manufacture immoderate idiosyncratic transportation to this event, furthering their ain idiosyncratic agenda, conscionable a tiny portion of the deluge of chaos tourists we saw present successful Kenosha trying to provender disconnected of what we were going through, contempt everything we did to effort and archer them, spell away, enactment out."

Richards countered that Rittenhouse came to the metropolis to help, noting that helium helped cleanable graffiti disconnected a precocious schoolhouse earlier the shootings.

“Kyle feels for this community,” helium said.

NAPOLEON COMPLEX

Binger focused mostly connected Rosenbaum's actions, trying to antagonistic Rittenhouse's assertions that Rosenbaum was causing occupation each night, swinging a chain, demanding radical sprout him, spewing radical slurs and mounting fires. Binger described Rosenbaum arsenic a tiny antheral — helium stood astatine 5 feet 4 — with a “Napoleon complex" but helium was harmless.

“Oh, fto maine archer you each the atrocious things Joseph Rosenbaum did,” the authoritative said. “He tipped implicit a Port-a-Potty that had nary 1 successful it. He swung a chain. He lit a . . . Dumpster connected occurrence . . . Oh, and helium said immoderate atrocious words. He said the N-word. If helium were live contiguous . . . I'd astir apt effort and prosecute him for arson. But I can't due to the fact that the suspect killed him. But that's the mode we woody with radical that bash these things. When you perpetrate arson, we prosecute you. We don't execute you successful the street.”

Richards called Rosenbaum “irrational and crazy” and said helium chased Rittenhouse down until helium had him cornered. If Rosenbaum had taken Rittenhouse's weapon from him helium would person changeable others, Richards said.

“Mr. Rosenbaum made a fatal mistake that day, chasing Kyle Rittenhouse into the corner,” Richards said. “He ran arsenic acold arsenic helium could, and helium shot, 4 times successful three-quarters of a 2nd . . I'm gladsome (Rittenhouse) changeable him due to the fact that if Joseph Rosenbaum got that weapon I don't for a infinitesimal judge helium wouldn't person utilized it against idiosyncratic other . . . Mr. Rosenbaum was hell-bent connected causing occupation that night.”

WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THIS?

Binger wrapped up his arguments by asking jurors to inquire themselves if they would person reacted similar Rittenhouse successful the aforesaid situation.

“Would a tenable idiosyncratic person done the aforesaid thing?” Binger said. “Would you person engaged successful the reckless behaviour that led to this people of events? Would you person gone retired aft curfew with an AR-15 looking for trouble? Would you person aimed astatine different people? Would you person tried to usage the weapon to support an bare car lot? No tenable idiosyncratic would person done these things. ”

10 MILLION REASONS TO LIE

Richards focused connected Grosskreutz's grounds that helium didn't cognize his ain pistol had a circular successful the enclosure erstwhile helium ran up to Rittenhouse. Grosskreutz has filed a suit against the metropolis of Kenosha alleging constabulary conspired with equipped militia the nighttime helium was shot; he's seeking $10 million.

“Grosskreutz won’t accidental thing that puts him successful a atrocious light,” Richards said. “Grosskreutz's the idiosyncratic who has 10 cardinal reasons to lie.”

WITNESSES

Richards argued that the state's witnesses really helped Rittenhouse's case, pointing retired that a constabulary detective seemed to hold that Rosenbaum came retired of hiding to pursuit Rittenhouse; a forensic pathologist testified that Rittenhouse changeable Rosenbaum astatine adjacent range, wrong 4 feet, bolstering the defence statement that Rosenbaum reached for Rittenhouse's rifle; and others successful Rittenhouse's radical testified they had support to defender the car dealership.

One subordinate of Rittenhouse's group, JoAnn Fiedler, testified that she ne'er saw Rittenhouse enactment inappropriately toward anybody, Richards recounted for jurors.

HOCUS POCUS OUT OF FOCUS

Richards lambasted the prosecution’s usage of an enlarged photograph taken from drone video that a authorities transgression laboratory expert testified helium took 20 hours to produce. Prosecutors said the enlarged representation shows Rittenhouse pointing his weapon astatine protesters, an enactment they accidental provoked the bid of events that resulted successful Rittenhouse sidesplitting 2 radical and wounding a third.

“What helium did for those 20 hours is hocus pocus,” Richards said successful urging jurors to cull information of the image. “And helium makes an grounds that is retired of focus.”

Prosecutors said it took the expert 20 hours to enactment connected the full video, not conscionable the representation that was enlarged.

POLITICAL FIRESTORM

Richards said Binger's bureau ne'er reassessed their lawsuit aft video grounds showed Rittenhouse acted successful self-defense. He said prosecutors privation to clasp idiosyncratic liable for bringing “terror” to Kenosha's streets.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is simply a governmental lawsuit . . . but the territory attorney's bureau is marching guardant with this lawsuit due to the fact that they request idiosyncratic to beryllium responsible. They request idiosyncratic to . . . say, helium did it, he's the idiosyncratic who brought panic to Kenosha. Kyle Rittenhouse is not that individual.”

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Associated Press writers Amy Forliti successful Minneapolis and Scott Bauer successful Madison contributed to this report.

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Find AP’s afloat sum of the Rittenhouse trial: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse

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