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LeBron James said Kyle Rittenhouse should 'knock it off' after the teen cried during his murder trial

Nov 12, 2021, 06:22 IST
Insider
LeBron James. Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
  • LeBron James said Kyle Rittenhouse should "knock it off" in response to a video of the teen crying during his murder trial.
  • Rittenhouse is charged with killing two men and injuring a third during protests demanding justice for Jacob Blake.
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NBA icon LeBron James reacted to Kyle Rittenhouse getting emotional while taking the stand during his own homicide trial: "Man knock it off!"

Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with fatally shooting two men - Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber - and injuring a third, Gaige Grosskreutz, at protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, demanding justice for Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times by Kenosha police in August 2020.

Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty and claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot the three men.

The 18-year-old took the stand on Wednesday to deliver testimony on his account of what happened on August 25, 2020, during the protests, saying he felt "ambushed" and "cornered" by Rosenbaum and another man, Joshua Ziminski.

At one point, Rittenhouse appeared unable to speak clearly, prompting Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder to pause his testimony.

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A video of the incident was posted by USA Today later Wednesday, with the caption of the tweet reading: "Kyle Rittenhouse broke down in tears at his murder trial while on the witness stand as he described the events of Aug. 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin."

James weighed in on the video, writing in a response tweet: "What tears????? I didn't see one."

"Man knock it off!" the athlete continued. "That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court."

In his Wednesday testimony, Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum was "coming at me, with his arms out in front of him. I remember his hand on the barrel of my gun."

"He grabs my gun, and I can feel it pulling away from me, and I can feel the strap starting to come off my body," Rittenhouse testified. "I fire one shot."

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The 18-year-old then said Grosskreutz, who was injured in the incident, was standing in front of him with his hands held in the air in apparent surrender.

"Grosskreutz testified Monday that he had initially raised his hands to Rittenhouse, but perceived that the teenager "wasn't accepting my surrender" because he was "re-racking" his AR-15 rifle," Insider's Michelle Mark and Jake Epstein reported. "Grosskreutz said he never intended to kill Rittenhouse, but drew his pistol because he believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter."

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