KYLE RITTENHOUSE RIFLE TO BE DESTROYED PER AGREEMENT PER JUDGE

A judge on Friday approved an agreement by lawyers that the AR-15-style Rifle that Kyle Rittenhouse used to kill two people and wounded a third during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will be destroyed.

During the protest, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz in the arm.  Rittenhouse’s defense argued the he fired in self-defense after each of the men attacked him. Rittenhouse was 17 at the time. A jury last year acquitted him of multiple charges, including homicide.

State prosecutors, the defense and the man who purchased the gun agreed to let the Kenosha Police Department and Kenosha Joint Services destroy the firearm, along with the magazine and the scope, so that the weapon “will not be in anyone’s possession,” Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said during a hearing in Kenosha County Circuit Court Friday.

Binger said the state crime lab would destroy the rifle, probably in April. Judge Bruce Schroeder, the Kenosha County judge who presided over the high-profile trial of the Rittenhouse trail, approved the agreement. Rittenhouse was not in court for Friday’s hearing.

The judge also ordered that Rittenhouse’s $2 million bail be divided among his attorney, a foundation that solicited donations for his defense, and actor Ricky Schroder, who donated to the defense fund.
The latest development in the case comes after Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, filed a motion on January 19, requesting the return of Rittenhouse’s property that had been seized by Kenosha police following the shooting and entered into evidence. The items requested included the Smith & Wesson M&P rifle, ammunition, face mask, clothing, an iPhone and a baseball cap.

Richards and David Hancock, a spokesman for Rittenhouse, said last week that Rittenhouse, who is now 19, wanted to destroy the rifle and throw the rest of the items away so nothing can be used as a political symbol or trophy celebrating the shootings.

“We didn’t think anyone should profit from it,” Richards told reporters after the hearing. Asked if anyone had reached out about purchasing the gun, Richards responded, “Lots of people.” He didn’t elaborate.