Kyle Rittenhouse collapses in tears and hugs his attorney as he's found not guilty on all charges
- Kyle Rittenhouse sobbed and hugged his lawyer after being found not guilty on all counts on Friday.
Kyle Rittenhouse cried and hugged one of his lawyers after he was found not guilty on all charges.
Rittenhouse stood and remained blank-faced as each of the five not-guilty verdicts were read out, but when the jury forewoman finished speaking, the 18-year-old broke out into sobs and collapsed into his chair.
He then hugged one of his attorneys.
The attorney tried to get a shaking Rittenhouse to calm down, while another member of the legal team handed him a bottle of water.
Rittenhouse was charged with shooting three people — two fatally — during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, tied to the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake.
The teen had faced the possibility of decades in prison if he was convicted on the charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of reckless endangerment.
Rittenhouse's defense team argued at trial that he was only acting in self-defense, while the prosecution painted Rittenhouse as looking for trouble by going to the civil unrest armed with a semi-automatic weapon.
Rittenhouse was initially charged with seven counts related to the shooting, two of which were minor violations that were dismissed during the course of the trial.