After parts of four days of deliberations, jurors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of all five charges he was facing, including the charge of first-degree intentional homicide, which would have had him facing a mandatory life sentence if convicted. 

The 18-year old walked out of court a free man, and residents of Kenosha are bracing for what happens next. 

Here’s what Judge Bruce Schroeder said after the jury’s announcement. 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better jury to work with, and it has truly been my pleasure. I think, without commenting on your verdict, the verdicts themselves, just in terms of your attentiveness and the cooperation that you gave to us, justifies the confidence that the founders of our country placed in you, so I dismiss you at this time.”

The 18-year old Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.  He fatally shot two people and wounded a third during the second night of riots that had broken out in Kenosha last August.  

The bottom line is that defense lawyers did a much better job convincing the jury that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense after being attacked from behind by Gaige Grosskreutz, Joseph Rosenbaum, and Anthony Huber. 

The jury was made up of five men and seven women who deliberated over 25 hours. 

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