A judge for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Lake County, Illinois, on Friday granted the prosecution’s motion to extradite 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse to Wisconsin to face charges of murder and attempted murder. Rittenhouse’s lawyers argued that the extradition documents did not conform to statutory standards and that extraditing Rittenhouse violated his constitutional rights. The judge rejected both arguments and agreed to extradite Rittenhouse.
The city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, erupted in civil unrest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse, from Antioch, Illinois, traveled across state lines into Kenosha armed with an AR-15 style .223 rifle. Under Wisconsin law, it is a Class A misdemeanor for a minor to cross state lines with a rifle.
According to the criminal complaint, Rittenhouse was chased by Joseph Rosenbaum, one of the victims. In a video, Rosenbaum is seen chasing Rittenhouse, and then throwing an object at him. As he continues to approach Rittenhouse, he is shot in the head. After Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum, this alerted the crowd of protesters who then chased him. According to the complaint, they can be heard shouting “Beat him up” and “Hey, he shot him!” During this conflict, Rittenhouse shot at one person who jumped towards him, but the shot did not hit him. However, a second man, Anthony Huber, was shot and killed by Rittenhouse when, according to the complaint, Huber swung a skateboard at Rittenhouse and Rittenhouse returned with fire.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers argue that he acted in self-defense. His bail was set at $2 million, and he currently is being held at the Kenosha County Jail.