Kyle Rittenhouse trial verdict – live: Protests ramp up outside court as jury deliberates

Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand in his murder trial earlier, testifying about how he shot three men during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha Wisconsin, last year.

Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz. He faces multiple charges, including intentional homicide. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, has argued that the men attacked him and he fired in self-defense.

Here’s a look at some highlights from his testimony:

Jurors weighing charges against Kyle Rittenhouse were to return Wednesday for the second day of deliberations in his murder trial, after they failed to reach a swift verdict on whether he was the instigator in a night of bloodshed in Kenosha or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.

The jury of 12 deliberated for a full day Tuesday without reaching a decision. Several appeared tired as they walked into the courtroom Tuesday evening and indicated with a show of hands that they were ready to go home.

Here’s everything that happened on Tuesday and what can be expected on the second day:

ICYMI: As the nation’s eyes are glued to the televised Rittenhouse trial, broadcast widely across news networks and streamed online by media outlets, viewers have scrutinised the judge presiding over the high-profile case, which has touched on issues of white vigilantism, racial justice protests and the criminal justice system itself.

Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder is Wisconsin’s longest-service active trial judge who, at 75 years old, has said that he has tried more homicide cases than any judge in the state.

His courtroom manner and arguments with prosecutors have drawn significant attention as the trial draws to a close, with Mr Rittenhouse facing a mandatory life sentence if convicted on the most serious charges against him.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward reports:

As the Kyle Rittenhouse trial winds down, all eyes are on the jurors who will to determine the teen’s fate on multiple charges this week in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The case hangs on whether Mr Rittenhouse was the instigator on the night of the violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.

Mr Rittenhouse faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges against him, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree attempted intentional homicide.

The Kenosha County Sheriff released a statement about ‘verdict preparedness’, saying the trial is being closely monitored because “We recognize that some varying opinions and feelings revolve around the trial that may cause concerns.”

ICYMI: A defence lawyer angrily accused the prosecution at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial of lying. The lead prosecutor struck a measured tone, even as he raised the accused’s rifle at one point and sighted at a courtroom wall.

How the indignation and theatrics during Monday’s closing arguments played with jurors won’t be clear until 12 of them return with verdicts in a case that underscores American divisions on issues of guns, protests and policing.

The Associated Press looks at how some five hours of closings went and which side may have made the stronger argument to jurors:

ICYMI: A jury is deliberating on the verdict in the double homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men and injured another in the aftermath of protests against police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, and will consider a range of charges against him.

Throughout the two-week trial, jurors reviewed more than a dozen pieces of video, including livestreams from that night, an interview Mr Rittenhouse gave moments before he fired his gun, body camera footage, and aerial video from the FBI.

Alex Woodward has the story.

The rally against injustice that took place that night was organised in solidarity with a local Black man, Jacob Blake, who had been shot and left paralysed by a white police officer two days earlier following a confrontation after his SUV was stopped.

ICYMI: Attorneys for Kyle Kyle Rittenhouse criticised the prosecution’s “rush to judgment” to press homicide charges in the aftermath of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020, as the teenager’s defence team delivered closing arguments in the closely watched trial.

Mark Richards dismissed prosecutors’ argument that Mr Rittenhouse – who was 17 years old when he fatally shot two men and injured another with an AR-15-style rifle as protests against police violence dispersed on 25 August 2020 – had provoked the shootings, after Assistant District Attorney Mark Binger described the shooter as a “chaos tourist” who inserted himself into a volatile scene that night.

Alex Woodward has the story.

Judge Schroeder retired the jury at around 5.45pm CT, after a full first day of deliberations.

They have been told to report back to the courthouse on Wednesday morning to resume deliberations at 9am.

Judge Schroeder had asked the jury if they wanted to continue working into the evening or come back and start again on Wednesday morning.