KENOSHA, WIS. — Kyle Rittenhouse broke down sobbing Wednesday as he testified at his murder trial, telling the jurors he felt trapped in the moments before he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum.
“I was cornered,” he said, before starting to cry.
Rittenhouse, 18, became so emotional at that point, he could not form complete sentences. The judge called a 10-minute break to allow him to compose himself.
When jurors walked by Rittenhouse after the judge called a recess to allow him to regain his composure, many looked up at him in apparent sympathy as he continued to cry. On a courtroom bench across the room and within earshot of the jurors, Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, sobbed loudly.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to the charges and says he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz in August 2020.
“Two of them passed away but I stopped the threat that was attacking me,” he testified.
Though defendants rarely testify at their own criminal trials, it’s common in self-defense cases where the accused’s mindset plays a key role in the case. As in other states, Wisconsin law holds that a person can shoot if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to avoid being killed or badly hurt.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he testified. “I was trying to defend myself.”
Wearing a blue suit and navy tie, Rittenhouse seemed confident and earnest at the start of his testimony as he answered perfunctory questions about his education and participation in police cadet programs. He told jurors he graduated from an online high school and was taking nursing courses offered by Arizona State University.
Rittenhouse acknowledged he misled people about being a certified medic. He said he had first aid and advanced lifesaving training through his job as a lifeguard. He also carried an AR-15-style rifle loaded with 30 rounds of full metal jacket bullets.
The teen testified he had no problems with any protesters that night except for Joseph Rittenhouse, who he said twice threatened him. Rittenhouse told jurors Rosenbaum threatened to kill him if he ever got him alone and also vowed to rip his heart out.
Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum crossed paths in a used car lot, where he says a man told Rosenbaum to get Rittenhouse and a chase ensued. As Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse, he threw a plastic bag at him but was otherwise unarmed.
“I know it’s a bag now, but when he threw it at me ... I thought it was a chain,” he said.
Rittenhouse said when they reached several parked cars, he felt trapped and Rosenbaum reached for Rittenhouse’s gun. He shot him four times.
“I did what I had to do,” he said.
Videographer Richard McGinniss, who was covering the unrest, witnessed the shooting and immediately tried to help Rosenbaum. He screamed at Rittenhouse to call 911 and saw him reach into his pocket. McGinniss assumed he was calling 911. He wasn’t.
Records show Rittenhouse called a friend, Dominick Black, and then ran away with his first aid kit. Rittenhouse told the jury he felt his life would be in danger if he stayed at the scene.
““I thought the safest option would be … to turn myself into law enforcement,” he said.
As he headed down Kenosha’s main drag, he testified, Huber hit him with his skateboard, causing him to become lightheaded and stumble to the ground. While he was on the ground, a man jumped over Rittenhouse and attempted to kick his head. Rittenhouse fired two shots at him and missed.
“He would have stomped my face in if I didn’t fire,” he said.
Huber then attempted to stop him with this skateboard, hitting Rittenhouse in the head. The teen fired a single shot into Huber’s chest, killing him almost immediately.
On the video, Grosskreutz then approached Rittenhouse with a cellphone in one hand and his pistol in the other. Video shows the teen turn toward him with his rifle and Grosskreutz raises his hands.
Rittenhouse then checked his gun, and Grosskreutz took a step forward, his left arm stretched out and the hand holding the gun pulled back. Rittenhouse fired a bullet into his arm, essentially blowing off his entire bicep.
“I used deadly force to protect myself,” he said.
After shooting Grosskreutz, Rittenhouse made his way down the street to the police. He tried to turn himself in, but police ignored his attempts to surrender and drove by him.
“I was freaking out. I was attacked. I just shot somebody,” he said.
Several pretrial rulings have made it easier for Rittenhouse to testify. Kenosha Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder already has barred prosecutors from showing two troubling videos taken in the weeks before the shooting. In one, Rittenhouse punches a girl who is fighting with his sister, while in the other he discusses wanting to shoot people he believes are shoplifting from a drugstore.
The judge also banned the prosecution from showing pictures of Rittenhouse socializing with members of a far-right organization at a Wisconsin bar earlier this year.
Rittenhouse testified for more than 90 minutes Wednesday morning before the jury broke for lunch. Prosecutors are expected to resume questioning him in the afternoon.
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