Why a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse

Published: Nov. 19, 2021, 9:32 p.m.

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Today a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse on all counts in last summer\\u2019s shootings in Kenosha, Wis. We talk about the verdict, what it means and why this trial captivated the nation. 


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After three and a half days of deliberation, jurors in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse have found the 18 year-old not guilty on all charges \\u2014 including homicide and reckless endangerment. 


Rittenhouse fatally shot two people and shot and wounded a third during a protest against police conduct in Kenosha, Wis., in August 2020. Rittenhouse, who is White and was 17 at the time of the shootings, said he was acting in self defense. 


National reporter Mark Berman says the prosecution and defense presented dramatically different narratives of the shootings

And Kim Bellware reports from outside the Kenosha courthouse, where a crowd is gathering in support of the family members of the people shot by Rittenhouse.Gun control groups and racial justice activists are calling the verdict a dangerous decision


The parents of Anthony Huber, one of the people fatally shot by Rittenhouse, said in a statement they are \\u201cheartbroken and angry\\u201d over the verdict. 


\\u201cWe watched the trial closely, hoping it would bring us closure,\\u201d they said. \\u201cThat did not happen.\\u201d


Follow The Washington Post\\u2019s live coverage of the Rittenhouse trial here. 


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