Rittenhouse Defense Asks For Mistrial, Alleges Prosecutors Intentionally Did Not Provide High Quality Video Footage
'Clearly prejudices the defendant'
Rittenhouse Judge Bruce Schroeder receives hundreds of menacing emails during trial, wishing murder of his children and more: Report
Judge Bruce Schroeder has reportedly received hundreds of disturbing messages throughout the Kyle Rittenhouse trial — many of them accusing him of being racist and some of of them advocating for violence against his children.
What are the details?
In messages obtained by the Daily Mail, malcontents have been threatening to effect payback against Schroeder's children if Rittenhouse is found not guilty of murder charges in connection to the Kenosha riots of 2020.
The Kenosha County Courthouse received the messages, sent via email, letter, and fax, and were viewed by the Daily Mail.
One emailer said that Schroeder, who has been presiding over the Rittenhouse case in Kenosha, Wisconsin, wore a "white robe of the Klan" under his "black robes of justice."
One message, which included wishes of violence against Schroder's children, stated the hope that Schroder's children one day become "victims to the most heinous homicide known to man so he feels the pain."
The profane message added, "[W]e will call his kids not victims but bitches."
Another promised that Rittenhouse "won't live long" if he is acquitted.
"We are watching. Enjoy your term, judge, it's going to be your LAST," another person wrote. "If I ever meet you in person, I fully intend to spit directly into your face, regardless the cost. You're disgusting."
Another mailer wrote, "Wow way to name a white skinhead hot head to be a judge. No wonder they burn [sic] down your city."
According to the outlet, Schroeder has vowed to "deal with" his harassers, and said, "I wouldn't want to be those people."
The report added that a police car is stationed outside Schroeder's home guarding him 24 hours per day.
What else?
Schroeder on Monday handed the case over to the jury with a message to deliver a fair verdict following their deliberations.
“The time has now come where the great burden of reaching a just, fair, and conscientious decision in this case will be placed totally with you," Schroeder told the jury. "You will not be swayed by sympathy, passion, prejudice, or political beliefs. You will disregard any impressions that you may have, which you may believe are my opinion on the guilt or innocence of the defendant ... You will disregard the claims or opinions of any person, news media, or social networking site. You will pay no heed to the opinions of anyone — even the president of the United States, or the president before him."
“The founders of our country gave you, and you alone, the power and the duty to decide this case," Schroeder added.
Mark Levin RIPS media coverage of Rittenhouse trial: 'This is what happens when you have a mob that demands MOB JUSTICE'
Want to see what mob justice looks like? Consider the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse as the closing arguments end and the case is laid in the hands of the jury.
After being chased and attacked during the Kenosha riots two summers ago, Rittenhouse defended himself, shooting three people in the chaos. As the prosecution concealed key FBI video that exonerates Rittenhouse, they still attempted to paint him as a murderer.
But as BlazeTV host Mark Levin illustrates in the clip below, the prosecution's key witness isn't all he's cracked up to be. And you'll be shocked at what else he is covering up.
"Based on what I've been reading and following in this case, it is a brutal rejection of what the prosecution has tried here," Levin said of the trial. "But this is what happens when you have a mob that demands mob justice."
Watch the video clip below or find more from "LevinTV" here:
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Rittenhouse judge shouts down prosecution as sparks fly at trial: 'Don't get brazen with me!'
Tensions boiled over in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial Wednesday afternoon as the presiding judge dismissed the jury twice to shout down the prosecution for courtroom conduct he deemed inappropriate and perhaps even unlawful.
What happened?
The first quarrel broke out while Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger was cross-examining Rittenhouse.
During the cross-examination, Binger engaged in a line of questioning with the apparent intention of proving that Rittenhouse's testimony had been tainted by outside explanations for his actions on the night of Aug. 25, 2020. The prosecutor strangely stressed that though it has been more than a year since the incidents took place, Rittenhouse was only now offering public testimony for the first time.
The Illinois teenager has been charged with multiple counts of felony murder for fatally shooting two men and wounding another during Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. His legal team is arguing that his actions were taken in self-defense.
As the questioning escalated, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder abruptly dismissed the jury to have a chat with Binger, during which he reminded him that it is a "grave constitutional violation" for him to talk about Rittenhouse's right to remain silent, according to Newsweek.
"You're right on the borderline. You may be over. But it better stop," Schroeder warned the prosecutor before bringing the jury back into the courtroom.
What else?
Later, as Binger pressed Rittenhouse about his intentions in traveling to Kenosha armed with an AR-15 on the night of the incidents, Schroeder dismissed the jury a second time.
Binger had brought up an Aug. 10 incident during questioning that had reportedly been held open but with a bias toward exclusion in a pretrial order. The incident involves a video that shows Rittenhouse witnessing alleged shoplifters at a CVS drug store and saying if he had his gun he would "start shooting rounds" at them.
After the jury had left the room, things hit the fan. Defense attorney Mark Richards asked the court to strongly admonish the prosecution, adding that next time it happened, he would request "a mistrial with prejudice."
Tempers flare as prosecution questions Kyle Rittenhouse www.youtube.com
"Why would you think that that made it OK for you to bring this matter before the jury?" Schroeder pointedly asked Binger. "You should have come and asked for reconsideration!"
"I was astonished when you began his examination by commenting on the defendant's post-arrest silence. That's basic law. It's been basic law in this country for 40 years, 50 years. I have no idea why you would do something like that," he continued. "I don't know what you're up to."
Binger explained that he was trying to impeach Rittenhouse with his line of questioning by arguing the Aug. 10 incident was "identical to what was going on the night of Aug. 25."
Schroeder emphatically disagreed, saying, "I'm not going to rehash the motion! That's absolutely untrue." The judge later argued that nothing in the prosecution's case dictates that the defendant was "lying in wait to shoot at somebody."
When Binger coyly argued that the state of play had changed on Wednesday due to Rittenhouse's testimony, Schroeder shot back angrily.
"Don't get brazen with me!" he yelled loudly. "You know very well that an attorney can't go into these types of areas when the judge has already ruled, without asking outside the presence of the jury to do so. So don't give me that!"
"I said it couldn't come in and it isn't coming in, no matter what you think!" the judge concluded.
Kyle Rittenhouse judge slams 'vast amount' of 'irresponsible and sloppy journalism' surrounding case
The judge presiding over the highly anticipated Kyle Rittenhouse homicide trial recently criticized what he called a "vast amount" of "irresponsible and sloppy journalism" covering the events surrounding the case.
What are the details?
While speaking with potential jurors during the jury selection process on Monday, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder said that those selected for the task may need to disregard much of what they have heard in the media about the case.
"This case has become very political. It was involved in the politics of the last election year," Schroeder said in the court session, adding, "To this day, you can go out and read things from all across the political spectrum about this case, most of which is written by people who know nothing."
"The price we pay for having a free press is a lot of irresponsible and sloppy journalism," he continued, adding that his charge "is not an attack on the media" but a reality check for potential jurors about the need for a fair and impartial trial.
Schroeder said that he has read some things about the case that have been "perfect," but noted that most of the reporting has either been "sloppy" or "deliberately biased."
"It can be frightening," he added while urging jury candidates to abandon their presuppositions and focus solely on the evidence presented at trial. He reminded them that the right to a fair trial is an important right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
What's the background?
The news comes only days after Schroeder ruled that the men Rittenhouse, 18, fatally shot or wounded on Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, can't be referred to as "victims" by prosecutors — but can be called "rioters" and "looters."
Rittenhouse — then 17 — allegedly took a gun to riots in the city in order to defend local businesses against looting and ransacking in the wake of a white police officer's shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man. During the mayhem, Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two.
Rittenhouse was charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree reckless endangering safety. If convicted, he could serve a mandatory life sentence in prison.
Rittenhouse's defense team has insisted he was acting in self-defense, and videos of the shootings from that night appear to back up his claims. He later told reporters he doesn't regret taking a gun to protests on the night of the shootings, saying he "would've died" if he hadn't.
By Monday evening, 20 jurors had been selected, and now the trial is set to be heard.
(H/T: Townhall)
Judge in Kyle Rittenhouse case rules that men he fatally shot and wounded can't be called 'victims' — but defense can call them 'rioters' and 'looters'
The judge presiding over the Kyle Rittenhouse homicide trial ruled Monday that the prosecution can't refer two men he fatally shot — and another man he wounded — as "victims," the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.
What's more, the paper said, Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder added that Rittenhouse's attorneys can refer to the three shot men as "rioters" and "looters."
What are the details?
The decision on courtroom semantics stems from Schroeder's "standard rule," the Journal-Sentinel said, as he prohibits use of the term "victim" until someone is convicted of a crime, which hasn't happened yet.
Rittenhouse, 18, was charged with homicide and attempted homicide after he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz in Kenosha, Wisconsin, NBC News said.
Rittenhouse — who was 17 on the night of the Aug. 25, 2020, shootings — is from Illinois and was in Kenosha to defend businesses from looting and arson amid rioting over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by a white police officer. Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and said he acted in self-defense.
"I feel I had to protect myself," Rittenhouse said last fall during an interview from a juvenile detention center. "I would have died that night if I didn't."
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger wanted Rittenhouse's lawyers barred from calling the Rosenbaum, Huber, and Grosskreutz "looters, rioters, arsonists or any other pejorative term," the Journal-Sentinel said.
More from the paper:
While looting, rioting and arson occurred in the two nights before the shooting, Binger argued that unless there's specific proof Rosenbaum, Huber and Grosskreutz were engaged in any of those actions, and that Rittenhouse had seen it, the labels are even more "loaded" than what judge ascribes to "victim."
Schroeder was not swayed. "Let the evidence show what it shows," he said, and declined to prohibit the defense from using the state's unwanted terms.
Not surprisingly, CNN talking heads were decidedly unhappy with the judge's ruling:
Judge says men Kyle Rittenhouse killed shouldn't be called 'victims'youtu.be
What the left will likely ignore
As TheBlaze reported last year, video recorded on the night of the shootings allegedly caught Rosenbaum antagonizing a gun-carrying group in town to defend property, glaring at them, and daring them to "shoot me!"
He even uttered the N-word as black people were feet away. (Content warning: Language, racial slurs):
Rioters are getting into confrontations with armed citizens who are out here to prevent looting and destruction to… https://t.co/waOikRHEn7
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) 1598415475.0
In addition, video allegedly shows Rosenbaum — who apparently removed his red T-shirt to use as a head covering — chasing after a male armed with a rifle. Rosenbaum then allegedly throws a bag of tools at the guy with the gun and then lunges at him, after which the individual with the gun opens fire.
Rosenbaum was then seen in a graphic clip of the shooting aftermath dying in the street and wearing the same capri-length jeans, white sneakers with white socks, and tan belt as he's wearing in the video of him confronting militia members.
Anything else?
NBC News reported that Grosskreutz — who has not been charged with a crime — sued the city, the county, and law enforcement this month for enabling a "band of white nationalist vigilantes" amid unrest following Blake's shooting.
While a spokesperson representing Kenosha and its police department declined to comment, the network said that an attorney representing Kenosha County and the sheriff called Grosskreutz's allegations false.
"The lawsuit also fails to acknowledge that Mr. Grosskreutz was himself armed with a firearm when he was shot, and Mr. Grosskreutz failed to file the lawsuit against the person who actually shot him," attorney Sam Hall said, according to NBC News.
Here's a clip showing both Huber and Grosskreutz getting shot shortly after Rosenbaum was shot. (Content warning: Language):
(Warning, Graphic/Violent) A crowd chases a suspected shooter down in Kenosha. He trips and falls, then turns with… https://t.co/vxBAmOy0TK
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) 1598422068.0
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