Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted on all charges in his murder trial.
The jury returned the verdict on Friday after several days of deliberations.
Rittenhouse was charged with five felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Jurors were also allowed to consider lesser charges for two of the felonies.
As CNN notes, “The charges stem from the chaotic unrest last year in the wake of the Kenosha Police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man. After instances of rioting and fiery destruction, Rittenhouse, 17 at the time, took a medical kit and an AR-15-style rifle and joined up with a group of other armed people in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020.”
“There, Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum – who was chasing the teenager and threw a plastic bag at him – and then tried to flee the area. A crowd of people pursued the teenager, and Rittenhouse shot at a man who tried to kick him; fatally shot Anthony Huber, who had hit him with a skateboard; and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, who was armed with a pistol,” it added.
Rittenhouse delivered emotional testimony during the trial in which he said, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.”