Judge dismisses weapons charge against Kyle Rittenhouse just before closing arguments begin in his homicide trial

• A Kenosha judge on Monday threw out a misdemeanor gun charge against Kyle Rittenhouse.
• In his ruling, Judge Bruce Schroeder noted that Wisconsin's gun statute was poorly written.

The judge in Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial has dismissed a misdemeanor weapons possessions charge against the teen.

Judge Bruce Schroeder threw out the count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 on Monday before closing arguments in the trial began.

Rittenhouse's defense had argued that the teen should not face the charge because of an exception to the Wisconsin statute involving the barrel length of a gun.

The defense team said the count should be dismissed because the AR-style semi-automatic rifle Rittenhouse brought to an August 2020 protest was not short-barreled.

Prosecutors had repeatedly argued that Wisconsin's statute was intended to prevent minors from accessing weapons, but on Monday they conceded that Rittenhouse's rifle was not short-barreled. In his ruling, Schroeder noted that the law was poorly written.

In Wisconsin, adults are legally permitted to openly carry firearms, though minors are prohibited in many circumstances. But Rittenhouse's defense attorneys had argued that the specific wording of Wisconsin's laws didn't actually bar a 17-year-old from carrying a rifle with a long barrel — only short-barreled weapons.

Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with fatally shooting two men and injuring a third during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and testified that he shot all three men in self-defense because they attacked him first.

Rittenhouse now faces five charges, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Previously, Schroeder also dismissed a citation against Rittenhouse for violating a curfew on the night of the shootings.