Why a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse

Today a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse on all counts in last summer’s shootings in Kenosha, Wis. We talk about the verdict, what it means and why this trial captivated the nation. 

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After three and a half days of deliberation, jurors in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse have found the 18 year-old not guilty on all charges — including homicide and reckless endangerment. 

Rittenhouse fatally shot two people and shot and wounded a third during a protest against police conduct in Kenosha, Wis., in August 2020. Rittenhouse, who is White and was 17 at the time of the shootings, said he was acting in self defense. 

National reporter Mark Berman says the prosecution and defense presented dramatically different narratives of the shootings. 

And Kim Bellware reports from outside the Kenosha courthouse, where a crowd is gathering in support of the family members of the people shot by Rittenhouse.Gun control groups and racial justice activists are calling the verdict a dangerous decision. 

The parents of Anthony Huber, one of the people fatally shot by Rittenhouse, said in a statement they are “heartbroken and angry” over the verdict. 

“We watched the trial closely, hoping it would bring us closure,” they said. “That did not happen.”

Follow The Washington Post’s live coverage of the Rittenhouse trial here. 

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