KENOSHA, Wis (AP) – An 18-year-old Illinois teenager accused of fatally shooting two people dead during a rally in southeastern Wisconsin last year is banned from dealing with well-known white supremacists under bail of a judge.
Kyle Rittenhouse was 17 during the August 25 rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while hundreds of police protested against Jacob Blake, a black man. Rittenhouse has been charged with several counts, including reckless and intentional murder, threatening and minors in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors allege Rittenhouse, who is white, left his home in Antioch, Illinois, and traveled to Kenosha to answer a call on the civilian force to protect cases. Kenosha was killed in several nights of chaotic street protests after a white officer shot Blake in the back during a domestic disorder, which leaves Blake paralyzed.
Rittenhouse opened fire with an assault rifle, killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued that he shot in self-defense. Conservatives gathered around him and raised enough money to pay his $ 2 million bail.
According to online court records, a Wisconsin judge amended Rittenhouse’s conditions of release on Friday to note that Rittenhouse “will not knowingly conduct with any person or group of persons known to harm, threaten or threaten others on on the basis of race, color, national origin or gender. ”
He is also barred from owning and drinking alcohol and possessing firearms.
Prosecutors requested the amendments after Rittenhouse was seen drinking at a bar in the town of Mount Pleasant in southeastern Wisconsin, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee, earlier this month. The legal drinking age is 21, but in Wisconsin, Rittenhouse could legally drink alcohol because he was with his mother.
According to WMTV, prosecutors write in their request that Rittenhouse would also pose for a photo outside Pudgy’s Pub with two men while making the “OK” sign with their hands, a symbol used by white supremacists. Prosecutors also claimed that five men in the tavern in Rittenhouse were serenading with a song that became the song of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group.