The 21st Show

Reporter roundtable: The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse

 
In this Oct. 5, 2021 file photo, Kyle Rittenhouse, appears for a motion hearing, in Kenosha, Wis. A judge may decide at a hearing Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, whether use-of-force experts can testify at Rittenhouse's trial for shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin in 2020.

In this Oct. 5, 2021 file photo, Kyle Rittenhouse, appears for a motion hearing, in Kenosha, Wis. A judge may decide at a hearing Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, whether use-of-force experts can testify at Rittenhouse's trial for shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin in 2020. Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP

The shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, poured fuel on protests that had already been taking place that summer in memory of George Floyd. Some of the demonstrations in Kenosha were destructive — breaking windows and lighting fires. An alderman put out a call online for “armed citizens” to protect local businesses, and among the people heeding the call, was an Illinois teenager named Kyle Rittenhouse. He went to Wisconsin with a high-powered, semi-automatic rifle in the style of the AR-15. The short version of what happened next is that two people were killed and one was wounded. Now, Rittenhouse is standing trial for murder and other charges. The 21st was joined by reporters from the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times Magazine to discuss the trial.  

GUESTS: 

John Keilman 

Reporter for the Chicago Tribune

Charles Homans 

Politics Editor for The New York Times Magazine | Author of "Kyle Rittenhouse and the New Era of Political Violence."

 

 

Prepared for web by Owen Henderson

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