Kyle Rittenhouse's trial opens with his lawyer saying the N-word twice in court
- The prosecution and defense gave opening statements Tuesday in Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial.
- The prosecution said Rittenhouse acted unreasonably in the shootings of three men last year.
Kyle Rittenhouse's defense attorney said the N-word twice in court on Tuesday during opening statements in a trial that will focus on whether the teen was justified in shooting three men during racial unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.
Rittenhouse is charged in the fatal shootings of two men and injury of a third after going to Kenosha on the night of August 25, 2020. His lawyer said Rittenhouse wanted to help protect a local business amid the unrest in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.
While Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said in his opening statements that Rittenhouse's use of force was unnecessary, Mark Richards, a member of Rittenhouse's defense team, said the teen had been forced to defend himself from Joseph Rosenbaum, one of the slain men.
To drive home his point, Richards showed the jury a clip that depicts Rosenbaum taunting others on the night of his death.
"Shoot me," Rosenbaum says in the video before adding the N-word. He then says the same phrase, ending it again with the N-word. "Bust on me for real," he then says.
A little more than a minute later, while referring to the clip, Richards repeated Rosenbaum's words in the video, including the two instances of Rosenbaum saying the N-word.
Richards spent most of his opening statement to the jury painting Rittenhouse as someone who had close ties to Kenosha and wanted to lend a hand to the community. He said multiple times that Rittenhouse went to Kenosha armed to help defend a local business and that his client didn't "want confrontation" or "trouble."
Richards said Rittenhouse was forced to defend himself when Rosenbaum started chasing after him and diving for his gun. The lawyer said Rittenhouse shot the other two people while defending himself against a mob after shooting Rosenbaum.
The prosecution framed Rittenhouse's actions as extreme, even amid the backdrop of violence and chaos that night.
Binger told the jury in his opening statement that it was "important to keep the context of that night in mind" when determining whether Rittenhouse acted "reasonably."
"We will show you video of hostile confrontations, people getting up in each other's faces, and yet the only person who killed anyone is the defendant," Binger said.
Binger also called into question the idea that Rittenhouse was in Kenosha just to protect businesses, saying that the police had pushed demonstrators past the business Rittenhouse was said to be guarding.
"Does the defendant stay there? Does he decide that he's done what he set out to do and it's time to go home? No," Binger said. "The evidence will show that the defendant and another individual in the group ... decide to venture out into the crowd ... and walk amongst this group of hostile protesters."
The trial, which began Monday with jury selection, is expected to last two weeks.