Kyle Rittenhouse’s ‘murder’ remarks could be used against him in court

Texts in which Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly said he wanted to kill Black Lives Matter rioters could be used in an ongoing lawsuit against him.

Rittenhouse’s former bodyguard, who claims to have the texts, said he was willing to work with John Huber, who is suing Rittenhouse for shooting his son during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest.

Rittenhouse gained notoriety in August 2020 when, at age 17, he fatally shot two men — Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36 — and injured Paul Prediger, 26, then known as Gaige Grosskreutz, after riots. erupted following a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The 21-year-old said the three shootings, carried out with an AR-15-style semi-automatic firearm, were acts of self-defense.

Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in November 2021, including charges of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and two counts of reckless endangerment first degree security. He later said he supported the BLM movement, adding that he was at the protest to “protect businesses and provide medical assistance.”

Rittenhouse, then 17, allegedly vowed to “kill” the people he saw shoplifting at a local CVS pharmacy two weeks before shooting the two to death in Wisconsin, his former police guard claimed. body, Dave Hancock.

“I wish they would come to my house. I will murder them,” another text reportedly read.

The allegations were made by Hancock, in The Trials of Kyle Rittenhousea 90-minute documentary, first broadcast on Law & Crime Network on September 27.

Rittenhouse became a cause celebre among gun rights advocates after the jury acquitted him of homicide charges.

Hancock said “he is willing to work with the attorneys” handling Huber’s trial, according to the Law & Crime website.

Rittenhouse, without directly responding to his former bodyguard’s claims, reaffirmed his innocence in the documentary.

“I had no other choice because I was surrounded and I had nowhere to go or where to escape. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told the team. documentary.

Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, told Law & Crime that he was not surprised that Hancock was willing to work with Huber.

“If Dave provides information to the plaintiffs it wouldn’t surprise me, he’s been threatening to do it for some time,” Richards told Law & Crime. “He also told me he would return the phone if Kyle paid $40,000, which he thinks Kyle ‘owes’ him. Never a dull moment.”

“To say that Dave (Hancock) is a disgruntled former employee, spokesperson or fundraiser would be an understatement,” Richards added.

News week On Tuesday, we requested comment by email from Richards, Huber and Hancock and from Rittenhouse, through Richards.

A federal judge ruled in February that Huber’s wrongful death lawsuit could proceed.

John Huber sues Rittenhouse and Wisconsin police for his son’s death. The lawsuit alleges that Rittenhouse conspired with law enforcement to harm protesters. Huber is seeking unspecified damages from city officials, officers and Rittenhouse.

In February, Wisconsin federal judge Lynn Adelman denied motions filed by Rittenhouse and police seeking to dismiss the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, initially filed by Huber in 2021, links Rittenhouse’s actions to those of law enforcement at the protest sites.

The lawsuit accuses Kenosha police officers of permitting a dangerous situation that violated her son’s constitutional rights and led to his death. It also alleges that Rittenhouse conspired with officers to harm protesters.

Another Rittenhouse lawyer, Shane Martin, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press in February: “While we respect the judge’s decision, we do not believe there is any evidence of a conspiracy and we are confident, just as a Kenosha jury found, Kyle’s actions that evening were not unlawful and were taken in self-defense.”

Anthony Huber was among those gathered to protest the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer. Rittenhouse said he went to the protests to protect private property and help as a doctor.

During the protests, Rittenhouse, who was carrying an AR-15-style rifle, first shot Rosenbaum, 36, who had approached him but was unarmed. After the first shooting, Rittenhouse ran toward the police station, but was chased by Huber, who mistook him for an active shooter. Huber hit the teen with his skateboard, but was then shot by Rittenhouse.

Prediger, who was chasing Rittenhouse, was shot in the arm by the teen but survived. He is also suing Rittenhouse. Prediger, who was also armed, said he had his hands in the air at the time.

Although Rittenhouse was found not guilty of five counts – the most serious of which was first-degree intentional homicide – in 2021 on the grounds that he acted in self-defense, the civil case could result in a different verdict. The burden of proof is different in a civil case, where plaintiffs must prove their allegations by a preponderance of evidence instead of proving them beyond a reasonable doubt, as in criminal cases.