A 17-year-old from Illinois who is charged with killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin and whose case has become a rallying cry for some conservatives has posted bail and was released from custody.
Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during a demonstration on August 25 that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
He posted a two million US dollars (£1.5 million) bond through his attorney at about 2pm, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Sgt David Wright said.
Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, told police he was attacked while he was guarding a business and that he fired in self-defence.
He faces multiple charges, including intentional homicide, reckless endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm. Wisconsin law does not permit minors to carry or possess a gun unless they are hunting.
He is due back in court on December 3 for a preliminary hearing.
His case has taken on political overtones. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have painted Rittenhouse as a trigger-happy white supremacist.
Conservatives upset over property destruction during recent protests have portrayed him as a patriot exercising his right to bear arms during unrest.
A legal defence fund for him has attracted millions of dollars in donations, and his mother got a standing ovation from women at a Waukesha County GOP function in September.
Huber’s father, John Huber, asked Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Loren Keating during a hearing on November 2 to set Rittenhouse’s bail between 4-10 million dollars.
Huber said Rittenhouse thinks he is above the law and noted the effort to raise money on his behalf. He also suggested militia groups would hide him from police if he were released.
Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, asked for 750,000 dollars bail.
Keating ultimately set bail at two million dollars, saying Rittenhouse was a flight risk given the seriousness of the charges against him.
