Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial is ongoing in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and numerous photographs and videos of the scene of the shooting have been presented as evidence in the controversial case. Be aware that many of the photos and videos are graphic or disturbing. A video of Rittenhouse filming shows the moment when he shot two men in the street. You can see them throughout this article.
Rittenhouse is the teenager from Antioch, Illinois, who is on trial on multiple counts of murder and other serious charges in the shooting deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber. He also shot and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse’s team says he did not commit a crime. Rittenhouse’s attorneys allege that he acted in self-defense.
The trial takes place in the courtroom of Judge Bruce Schroeder. The shootings occurred in August 2020, after days of arson, protests and riots, in Kenosha following the shooting of a police officer a Jacob Blake.
Not all exhibits have been presented yet; Much of the evidence shown so far comes from the defense side because only the defense presented images during opening statements, and those were made available to journalists.
The main filming videos of Kyle Rittenhouse
The video above shows Rittenhouse shooting Rosenbaum, who had chased him to the corner of a used car lot. This video shows Rosenbaum running after Rittenhouse before Rittenhouse shoots him four times and kills him. Please note that this video is also graphic.
Here it is Rittenhouse’s main video showing him shooting Huber and Grosskreutz. It is very graphic and it is the key video in those shoots. Heavy provides the link instead of embedding it because YouTube has placed a disturbing content warning screen in the video.
Here is a link to another even more graphic video of the Rosenbaum shooting scene; shows a dying Rosenbaum lying on the ground while people tend to him. It is also very graphic.
Many media outlets have put together numerous videos to form a timeline. You can see one of those videos above. The Rosenbaum shooting happened first; Rittenhouse then ran down the road. Then came the shootings of Huber and Grosskreutz.
Photos from the shooting moment of Rittenhouse Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz
According to the prosecution and defense, Rittenhouse had just run down the street, in the direction of police, after shooting Joseph Rosenbaum in the parking lot of a car dealership. In the video below, you see Grosskreutz with the orange bag and Huber, who has already been shot, starting to fall to the ground in the right corner of the photo.
GettyThe filming scene
Defense attorney Mark Richards says Rittenhouse was attacked by multiple people, one of whom took off his hat. Then he fell to the ground. At the time, Rittenhouse was lying down and sitting. A man who remains unidentified and was labeled a “jump-kicking man” by the defense attorney, then rushed to rush Rittenhouse and kicked him in the head. Huber then ran to Rittenhouse, making contact with his skateboard and tapping his gun, according to Richards. This photo appears just before Rittenhouse shot Huber:
Richards showed the jury a photo that he claimed proves that Huber touched Rittenhouse’s gun; the defense is trying to show that Rittenhouse feared both Rosenbaum and Huber were trying to disarm him from his weapon. To establish self-defense, Rittenhouse must show that he reasonably feared that he or others were in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.
Court displayDefense exhibit showing Anthony Huber touching Rittenhouse’s gun.Gaige Grosskreutz then headed toward Rittenhouse with a pistol in hand, according to the defense attorney.
Rittenhouse shot him. Grosskreutz was injured but survived. Rittenhouse also shot the “jump kick man” but missed. In this photo, Huber lies wounded on the ground and Grosskreutz is now on the run.
GettyKenosha shot
The complaint says that Rosenbaum “initially tried to involve the defendant. (Richie) McGinnis (an eyewitness journalist) stated that while the defendant was walking, Rosenbaum was trying to get closer to the defendant. When Rosenbaum advanced, the defendant made a ‘juke’ movement and began to run, ”according to the complaint. “McGinnis said the unarmed guy (Rosenbaum) was trying to get the defendant’s gun. McGinnis demonstrated by extending both hands in a quick grabbing motion and did that as a picture of how Rosenbaum tried to reach for the defendant’s gun … McGinnis said he definitely made a move that he was trying to grab the gun barrel. McGinnis testified that the defendant removed it and then picked it up. ”
Video taken from an FBI surveillance plane
The prosecution said the FBI recorded infrared video that captured the scene of the shooting from more than 8,000 feet in the air. You can see this video above.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said in his opening statement that the video would show Rittenhouse running for the first time after Rosenbaum. He then acknowledges that Rosenbaum started running after Rittenhouse, chasing him to a corner of the parking lot and throwing a plastic hospital bag at him. Richards says Rosenbaum was looking for his gun, and that a reporter who witnessed the scene says Rosenbaum “jumped” for the gun while yelling an expletive at Rittenhouse.
However, when it came time for the prosecutor to put the FBI agent on the stand, the judge cut off the audio and video and the prosecutor ended his presentation without the FBI agent identifying anyone in that video.
What is known about this testimony comes from a reporter from the pool in the courtroom. The pool report read, in the words of that reporter:
Prosecutors said they had finished questioning the FBI agent before they identified someone in the grainy images or explained their significance to the Rittenhouse case. They will likely return to the video later in the presentation.
Then, the defense began the interrogation. During questioning, when the defense asked for the tail number of the two-man plane, prosecutors objected. The judge then asked the attorneys to step up to get a sidebar on the subject.
The judge then asked the jurors to leave the courtroom as they continued to discuss the video taken by the FBI agent on the surveillance plane. Defense attorney Mark Richards told the judge that he believes there was another video taken by the FBI that is no longer available.
Richards said he was incredulous that the FBI could take a video that captured alleged homicides and then get rid of that video.
“That’s absurd,” Richards added. The judge resisted when prosecutor Binger told him regarding the images of the plane that “the federal government is not under our control.”
“I beg your pardon,” the judge said, interrupting Binger.
“I don’t understand this,” said the judge. “This is a criminal process … if there are going to be swashbuckling things. What’s the matter?”
He later said that prosecutors should skip the FBI agent for now, call a different witness, and return to the subject of the plane later.
Joseph Rosenbaum’s behavior before the shooting
Part of the video above was shown to the jury. Note that the language in it is very disturbing. Rosenbaum, the first man to be shot by Rittenhouse, is seen shortly before the shooting in a gas station parking lot and becomes agitated with another person. Rittenhouse is not in this video.
“Shoot me,” Rosenbaum says to someone, using a racial slur. Rosenbaum was convicted of child abuse charges in Arizona and had a pending charge of domestic violence assault in Wisconsin. He was released from a hospital on the day of the shooting.
The defense showed the jury a photo of Rosenbaum with a chain on the night of the shooting.
defense exhibitionJoseph Rosenbaum with a chain
The defense is trying to establish that Rosenbaum was the aggressor. The prosecution, to counter that, raised the FBI surveillance video. Defense attorney says Rittenhouse first helped clean graffiti from a public building and then went on to help protect a local business whose other outlet had been burned to the ground in the previous days.
He was also acting as a doctor.
ExpositionJoseph Rosenbaum
Rittenhouse was armed; Prosecutors say he illegally possessed the gun because he was 17 years old. Rosenbaum was not armed when he was shot.
ExpositionKyle rittenhouse
Rosenbaum is seen wearing a blue mask in this photo presented by defense attorneys, who say he was seen setting a dumpster on fire.
Defense exhibitionJoseph Rosenbaum
The other man accused of firing
Defense exhibitionJoshua Ziminski
This man, Joshua Ziminski, pictured above, is accused of firing a gun into the air just before Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum.