Kyle Rittenhouse out of jail after posting $2M bond
The teenage gunman charged with killing two Black Lives Matter protesters in Wisconsin this summer walked out of jail Friday afternoon after posting $2 million bond.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was released from custody around 2 p.m. and handed over to his own security detail after his attorneys posted bond on his behalf, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department.
The Illinois teen faces a series of felony charges, including intentional homicide and reckless endangerment, in the shooting of three men during a chaotic protest on Aug. 25. Two of the victims, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, died that same night.
The civil unrest in the southern Wisconsin city of Kenosha was sparked by the police shooting of unarmed Black man Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back seven times just days earlier.
Rittenhouse, who claims he fired his assault-style rifle in self-defense, tried fighting extradition from Illinois for two months before being transferred to the Kenosha County jail three weeks ago.
The case has turned into a rallying cry for gun-rights activists and far-right politicians who see the accused killer as a hero exercising his Second Amendment right to bear arms. His supporters even launched a legal defense fund that drew millions of dollars in donations in recent weeks.
One of the attorneys representing Rittenhouse confirmed his released in a tweet.
“KYLE RITTENHOUSE IS OUT OF JAIL,” L. Lin Wood wrote. “God bless ALL who donated to help #FightBack raise required $2M cash bail… Kyle is SAFE. Thanks to ALL who helped this boy.”
