
Also unknown were the locations of Huber, Rosenbaum, or Grosskreutz at that point in the night, or whether they had interacted with Rittenhouse before shots were fired. The back and forth between the teenager and the alleged "mob" was unknown, including if or to what extent they exchanged words. That's when the attorney said people "began chasing him down." Then, after some running around, Rittenhouse attempted to go to a second mechanic shop, which he apparently believed was vulnerable to property damage. People in the crowd apparently threatened the teen and others acting as vigilante security guards, per the attorney's account. passed, law-enforcement officers tried to clear a crowd of people a couple of blocks away - which, in effect, pushed the group toward the auto shop where Rittenhouse and others were stationed with guns.

That said, according to a statement to reporters by one of Rittenhouse's attorneys, the teen had heard the owner of a Kenosha car dealership wanted help patrolling his properties during the protest, so Rittenhouse and a friend armed themselves with rifles and headed to one of the auto shops.Īfter the city's mandated curfew of 8 p.m. President Donald Trump, too, has said the teen appeared to be “in very big trouble” and “probably would have been killed” had he not acted the way he did. Giving ideological ammo to Rittenhouse supporters on the frontlines of the country's culture war online, his legal defense team have framed the teenager from Antioch, Illinois, as a courageous vigilante who was patrolling the streets of Kenosha to prevent property destruction and theft when he needed to use his gun to defend himself. law enforcement after a white police officer days prior shot and wounded a Black man, Jacob Blake, who is now paralyzed from the waist down. What follows is an explanation of those findings, as well as everything we know about the incident that made the three men symbols of the country's political divide, at the request of Snopes readers to investigate the wide-ranging online campaign to celebrate Rittenhouse, and smear the reputations of his alleged victims.īut we should note here: No evidence showed the victims' histories had anything to do with the protest, which began as a peaceful showing of people against racism by U.S. Based on court records and inmate rosters, aspects of those claims were indeed accurate, while others were outright false.

Ultimately, the focus on the victims' backgrounds aimed to prove Rittenhouse's actions defensible, and discredit an underlying belief by the political left: that the victims acted heroically, and were wrongfully targeted by the armed teenager at the protest.Īnd though the rumors about the shooting victims varied in severity and nature, many alleged this: Huber was a known offender of domestic violence and rapist Rosenbaum had sexually abused children Grosskreutz had been arrested on suspicion of multiple crimes, including felony burglary, and all three victims were convicted felons. Gaige Grosskreutz was arrested and charged with burglary among other crimes are you really saying the backgrounds of these ‘peaceful protestors’ aren’t relevant to the discussion? One blog post alleged:Īnthony Huber was jailed for domestic violence. The makeshift investigations revealed what hardline conservatives believed to be proof of criminal wrongdoing by the deceased - Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36 -as well as by Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, who shot was shot in the arm and survived. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin - Americans on the political right launched a grassroots effort to uncover any evidence to deny the shooting victims martyrdom among opponents. Original story: In attempt to justify the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse - the 17-year-old accused of shooting three people, killing two, with a semi-automatic rifle during a protest on Aug. The Associated Press reported on the jury's verdict here.

19, 2021, Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges related to the Kenosha shootings.
