The judge presiding over Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial has dismissed a lesser weapons charge which held that the 17-year-old was too young to legally carry the AR-15 he used to shoot three people during the riots in Kenosha, Wisc., last year.
Rittenhouse previously faced up to nine months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted on the misdemeanor weapons charge. Judge Bruce Schroeder commented in the courtroom last week that the law delineating the misdemeanor charge could be too difficult for an “ordinary citizen” to understand.
“I have been wrestling with this statute with, I’d hate to count the hours I’ve put into it, I’m still trying to figure out what it says, what’s prohibited. I have a legal education,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder’s decision to drop the misdemeanor came on the day of closing arguments in Rittenhouse’s trial. The jury will still consider five felony charges brought against Rittenhouse, including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide.
Rittenhouse was indicted after shooting three people, killing two, during riots in August 2020 following a police shooting in Kenosha. While the prosecution claims Rittenhouse’s actions were criminal, Rittenhouse and his attorneys have claimed he was acting in self-defense.
It is unclear how long it will take the jury to reach a verdict. However, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers has authorized the deployment of about 500 National Guardsmen to a staging area outside Kenosha, in case of future rioting.
“I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully,” Evers said in a statement on Friday.