Big-Name Legal Team Steps Up To Help Kyle Rittenhouse Fight Kenosha Murder Charges
Illinois teen Kyle Rittenhouse will not be alone as he faces murder charges related to a shooting Tuesday night during the chaotic rioting that has ripped through Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Attorney Lin Wood has rallied to find the teen the best legal representation he can have.
Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, Illinois, was arrested Wednesday to face charges of first-degree homicide in connection with the shooting deaths of two people during rioting in Kenosha.
Wood, who has represented former Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann in his lawsuits against media outlets that smeared him and his Kentucky classmates in relation to an incident at the 2019 March for Life, led a very public charge to find Rittenhouse a good criminal attorney in response to a tweet from Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a member of the progressive “squad” of House members. The Massachusetts congresswoman called Rittenhouse a “terrorist.”
In his series of tweets, Wood wrote, “This young man needs & deserves courageous legal counsel who will fight for him,” adding, “The fight is for Kyle and for ALL Freedom Loving Americans.”
Wood is being supported by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin.
Ayanna Pressley just got condemned to the World of the Blocked. She is no Elvis. And I am not a criminal defense lawyer but I am going to see what I can do tomorrow to help Kyle Rittenhouse. If a private defense lawyer steps up to defend him, please notify me of his or her name. https://t.co/I6IVnKZ6JT
— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) August 27, 2020
I will be speaking with Attorney John Pierce later today about Kyle Rittenhouse. John has taken lead in helping form #FightBack Foundation.
To help or provide information about Kyle, please contact John Pierce at jpierce@piercebainbridge.com or @CaliKidJMP.
Enough is enough.
— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) August 27, 2020
In touch with some great people in effort to get Kyle Rittenhouse competent defense counsel. @michellemalkin is an American hero.
The line in the sand has been crossed. If Kyle cannot defend himself under the circumstances shown in videos, we are all at risk.
Think about it.
— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) August 27, 2020
Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin is also assisting so please DM Michelle also.
This young man needs & deserves courageous legal counsel who will fight for him. John is ready to do so & others will join him. The fight is for Kyle and for ALL Freedom Loving Americans.#FightBack
— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) August 27, 2020
(1) Thanks to ALL Freedom Loving Americans who responded to requests for contact information on Kyle Rittenhouse. We have connected with Kyle’s family & help is on the way. Kyle will have excellent legal representation. We owe him a legal defense.
— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) August 27, 2020
(3) Most important of all, continue to pray for your fellow citizens. Pray for our President. Pray for our country. And always, always, always #FightBack.
We will not go quietly in the night. We are Americans. ??
– Lin
— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) August 27, 2020
THANK YOU, Lin, John and #FightBack. Patriots, please share my Facebook alert as well. The clock is ticking for Kyle. Need all hands on deck. https://t.co/EvZWAZP3Yr
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 27, 2020
Although extensive social media videos were posted that night, it is difficult to precisely document what took place given the quality of the videos and the disjointed sequence of events they appear to portray.
However, witnesses and videos all indicate that Rittenhouse was being chased through the streets and at one point went down to the ground, whether because he fell or was pushed.
“The line in the sand has been crossed,” Wood tweeted. “If Kyle cannot defend himself under the circumstances shown in videos, we are all at risk.”
The New York Times’ visual investigations team examined numerous video clips in an effort to track Rittenhouse’s movements Tuesday night.
In the hours before the shooting incident, @KristanTHarris, @RichieMcGinniss and @ElijahSchaffer all interviewed Rittenhouse, who said he was protecting a local vehicle dealership together with several other armed men. He also offers medical assistance to protesters.
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
Rittenhouse walks up to a police vehicle with his rifle slung and talks with officers. One tosses a water bottle to the armed men, as seen in @KristanTHarris‘s livestream. pic.twitter.com/z5LKpvGWe1
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
To better understand what happened next, we synchronized 6 livestreams, which revealed that there were two separate shooting incidents, about one and a half minutes apart, involving multiple gunmen.
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
Rittenhouse turns toward the sound of the gunfire as another pursuer lunges toward him. He then fires four times with his assault rifle, and appears to shoot the man in the head.
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
It’s unclear why Rittenhouse was being chased or why he was in the area of this car dealership about four blocks away from the one he claimed to be protecting. We do know vehicles in this lot were damaged minutes before the first shooting. pic.twitter.com/7mbLQ3K21B
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
While fleeing from the scene, Rittenhouse is again chased by several people. He trips and falls to the ground and fires four shots as three people rush him. One person appears to be hit in the chest, while another, who is carrying a handgun, is hit in the arm. pic.twitter.com/wy0T26UmkR
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
Police vehicles just one block away remain stationary during the gunfire. Rittenhouse walks with his hands up toward the police, as bystanders call out that he was involved in the shooting. The police drive by him to the scene of the shootings, without stopping. pic.twitter.com/duiec5vm5P
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
Witness, Julio Rosas, 24, said “two people jumped onto him and there was a struggle for control of his rifle,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
“The rifle was being jerked around in all directions while it was being fired,” he said.
Pat Mess, whose said his grandparents live near the area where the shooting took place, said the gunman appeared to have been pushed to the ground.
“All hell broke loose from there,” Mess said. “That’s when all the shots started breaking out. That was when we witnessed the man right here laying on his back with an AR-style rifle.
“He proceeded to flip over and he fired two shots from that.”
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