Rittenhouse is charged with murder related to the murders of Huber and Rosenbaum, and attempted murder in connection with Grosskreutz’s injury. He is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon under the age of 18, a misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty.
Here is what we know about the two men killed and the only survivor of the shooting.
Joseph Rosenbaum
During those demonstrations, Rittenhouse clashed with a crowd gathered near a car dealership, and an unarmed Rosenbaum threw an object that looked like a plastic bag into it and missed it, according to a criminal complaint filed last year. Rosenbaum and Rittenhouse moved across the parking lot and appeared to be close to each other when a loud bang suddenly echoed and Rosenbaum fell to the ground, the complaint said.
The reporter approached Rosenbaum, who was on the ground, and tried to help. As Rosenbaum lay on the floor, Rittenhouse called his cell phone and said, “I just killed someone,” when he fled, the complaint said.
He was not part of the protesters or groups of armed men who were also there, the Post reported. After his dismissal, he briefly visited his fiancée, whom he proposed to in the middle of a busy sidewalk last winter. Just who she was, she told the Post: “I would make you laugh out of nowhere.”
“He wasn’t down there as a rioter or a robber,” Rosenbaum’s fiancée told the Post about Aug. 25. “Why was he there? I don’t have an answer. I ask myself this question every day.”
Anthony Huber
Huber, who was in a crowd of protesters with his girlfriend, was killed when Rittenhouse fled the scene of Rosenbaum’s shooting, the complaint said.
“He pushed me out of the way and ran away. I tried to grab him,” Hannah Gittings said. She described what Huber did as a “heroic thing”.
Footage from the scene shows Rittenhouse carrying an AR-15-style rifle as he walks the city streets with a group of armed men. Gittings told CNN that her boyfriend attacked the gunman to protect her and other people nearby.
Huber appeared to have reached for Rittenhouse’s handgun while holding a skateboard in the other, according to the criminal complaint. As Huber tried to grab the gun, Rittenhouse aimed it at his body and fired one shot, according to the complaint. Huber was seen limping and then falling to the ground, the complaint said. He died of a gunshot wound.
Huber was “completely indescribable” and stuck to his beliefs and convictions, Gittings said last year.
“He was an incredibly intelligent person, literally the smartest person I’ve ever met,” Gittings said. “He knew exactly what he was in danger of chasing someone with a weapon.”
Huber was born and raised in Kenoshi, said Anand Swaminathan, a lawyer for his family.
“He liked Kenosha,” Swaminathan said. “In the years before that event, he lived well, had fun and was happy, and tried to do the most he could.”
As a young man, Huber struggled with mental health challenges and skateboarding was among the things that brought him the most joy. In Kenoshi, he found a community of people who shared the same passion, the lawyer added.
“It was something that brought him a lot of happiness, brought him a lot of peace,” Swaminathan said. “He really struggled to get to a healthy place.”
People who talk about Huber are talking about “a child who wanted to help people,” the lawyer added.
“His family feels that nature is in him part of why he did the actions he did that night, he wanted to help, he wanted to stop that person,” he said.
“He was always quick to help friends, family and neighbors in need, so we were not surprised to learn that Anthony came to the aid of others on August 25,” the statement said. “Even though we miss him very much and wish none of this would happen, we are very proud of him.”
Huber’s father filed a federal lawsuit in August 2021, accusing Kenosha authorities of replacing armed men patrolling the streets and cooperating with them, claiming that their actions “directly caused” Huber’s death.
“The overt support and coordination of defendants with armed individuals in the minutes and hours before the shooting deprived Anthony Huber and other protesters of the basic protection normally provided by police,” the lawsuit alleges. “It was a permit for armed individuals to cause devastation and cause injury.”
CNN contacted Kenosha Police, Kenosha City and a district representative. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment.
Gaige Grosskreutz
Rittenhouse was the last to shoot and injure Grosskreutz, who approached him shortly after Huber was shot, according to the criminal complaint. Grosskreutz dropped to the ground when Huber was shot, and took a step back, according to the appeal. He raised his hands in the air and then began to move towards Rittenhouse, who then fired one shot and, according to the complaint, hit Grosskreutz in the arm. Grosskreutz held a gun but had his hands raised, the complaint said.
After he was shot, Grosskreutz fled the scene and shouted for a doctor.
“I think about the screams, about the shots. I think about everything all the time,” Sara Sidner told CNN in an interview in September 2020. “It’s something that you either let go of you or you have to get stronger because of it.”
Grosskreutz was wearing his “sick” hat at the time. He said his goal during the protest was to provide medical care to all who need it. He had previously trained as a paramedic before deciding to attend the College of Liberal Arts in Wisconsin.
“Even though my job as a paramedic was important to the community, I felt it was reactive: someone was shot, someone was overdosed,” he told CNN. “I wanted to improve my understanding of the world and educate myself further, and then be on the proactive side. To prevent people from being shot, to prevent people from overdosing.”
Since the shooting, he has had to undergo several surgeries and treatments.
“I’m missing 90% of my biceps,” he said last year. “It wasn’t easy emotionally, physically. It hurts me all the time, like unbearable pain that just doesn’t go away – both in the arm and in the heart.”
Last month, Grosskreutz also sued the city and district of Kenosha and many of its officials, who claimed that “Kenosha law enforcement officers and people from white nationalist militias were discussing and coordinating the strategy that led to the shooting.” The lawsuit alleges that Grosskreutz had a bandage in his medical bag the night he was shot, adding that Grosskreutz would probably have been Rittenhouse’s third murder if he had not been trained for medical care.
“Nevertheless, Grosskreutz’s life has changed immensely.”
CNN contacted the former police chief, the town of Kenosha, and his police department. A lawyer representing the Kenosha County Sheriff and the county said they intend to file a motion to dismiss the case.
Grosskreutz said that although he was also armed on the night of the protest, he did not shoot from a weapon.
“I was there to help people, not to hurt people,” he said.
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