(Trends Wide) — The first man shot to death by Kyle Rittenhouse during protests in Wisconsin acted “very belligerently” and said he was shot, but was not perceived as a serious threat, a former marine testified Friday.
The testimony of Jason Lackowski, the state’s seventh witness, came after a second juror in Rittenhouse’s murder trial was thrown out due to her pregnancy.
A juror was fired Thursday for telling a joke to an officer earlier this week about the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old black man whose August 2020 injuries in Kenosha, Wisconsin, They sparked riots during which Rittenhouse, then 17, killed two men and wounded another.
Rittenhouse fired an AR-15 type weapon eight times in total during the riots: four shots at Rosenbaum, who was unarmed; two shots at an unarmed stranger who kicked Rittenhouse; a fatal shot at Anthony Huber, who struck Rittenhouse with a skateboard; and a shot at Gaige Grosskreutz, who had a pistol in his hand, according to the prosecution.
Rosenbaum and Huber, 26, were killed, and Grosskreutz, 27, was injured.
Lackowski, who was armed the night of the riots, said he had traveled to Kenosha to protect local property. He said he met Rittenhouse, who introduced himself as an emergency medical technician.
The former marine stated that he also encountered Rosenbaum, who “had been … acting very belligerent, had bluntly asked to be shot” but did not regard the man as a threat.
Lackowski said he perceived Rosenbaum as a “babbling idiot” and that he turned around and ignored him. He said Rosenbaum was “a misstep … to entice someone to do something,” an action that showed the jury how to take a quick step forward before taking a step back.
At one point Lackowski testified that he ran to the sound of gunfire and encountered Rittenhouse, who appeared “exhausted, in shock” and was still armed, on the run.
Rittenhouse “had indicated that he … did not shoot anyone” and that he needed help, Lackowski testified after forwarding a copy of his statement to the FBI to refresh his memory.
“I told him to run to the police who was on the road,” Lackowski recalled telling the defendant. Then, the witness said, there were more shots in the direction Rittenhouse was running.
Lackowski said he “fainted” at some point, but recalled seeing an injured Grosskreutz on the ground. After Grosskreutz was taken away for medical attention, Lackowski said he saw a gun on the ground. He emptied the magazine and the police told him to drop it.
Seeking to counter Rittenhouse’s self-defense strategy, a prosecutor noted that Lackowski did not use his firearm that night and that he was not assaulted.
“It wasn’t necessary,” the witness said.
Latest dismissal leaves 18 jurors
The latest jury removal leaves the panel with 18 jurors: eight men and 10 women.
The pregnant juror appeared on the jury box Friday wearing a blue mask. Judge Bruce Schroeder questioned her briefly before firing her.
“God bless you and good luck,” said the judge.
Schroeder then told the remaining jurors that panel member No. 27 was “experiencing mild discomfort, is pregnant and requested to be dismissed and I accepted that request with the consent of the attorneys.”
“We are 18,” he said after both parties agreed to dismiss the jury.
The jury will be reduced to 12 once deliberations begin, according to the judge. The jury was selected in a single day without the use of a preliminary questionnaire.
It is the first week of testimony in the trial of Rittenhouse, who is now 18 years old.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including first degree manslaughter, first degree reckless manslaughter and attempted first degree manslaughter. His lawyer says he acted in self-defense.
The prosecution has portrayed Rittenhouse as a young vigilante prone to violence, while the defense has maintained that he was defending himself.
On Friday, Huber’s great-aunt Susan Hughes described her niece’s son to the jury. He said they both had red hair and used to talk about art, music and Star Wars.
Hughes said Huber was an avid skater who even skated in the snow. Huber told him that he knew Blake and that he would go to the protests to record a video, he testified. He got his driver’s license on his birthday, the Friday before he was killed, he claimed.
Kariann Swart, Rosenbaum’s fiancee, also took the stand for the trial. They had been homeless, he said, and were staying in a motel at the time of his death.
Rosenbaum had left a hospital in Milwaukee the day he was killed, he said. He was carrying a plastic bag with papers, socks, deodorant and a toothbrush and toothpaste, he said.
Swart said the medical examiner called her around 4:00 am and informed her that he had been killed. He fell to his knees and cried. She said she had asked him not to go downtown because of the riots.
Swart said he later saw a video showing Rosenbaum dying.
“I broke down and I can’t get that image out of my head,” he testified.
The next day, according to Swart, he visited the spot at the car dealership where Rosenbaum was killed and put his hand on the still bloodstained pavement. She broke down, she said.
When questioned, Swart said Rosenbaum had been taking medication “to help” with bipolar disorder.
Kyle Rittenhouse, left, cap reversed, walks down Sheridan Road in Kenosha on Aug.25, 2020, with another armed civilian.
The joke that led to the removal of the first jury
A man on the jury was removed from office Thursday after he made a joke while being escorted to his car, Schroeder said.
“I’m going to summarize what I remember, what they told me,” said the judge. “He was telling a joke … he told the agent … he made a reference to telling a joke about ‘Why did it take seven shots to shoot Jacob Blake?’
Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Binger was especially critical of the incident.
“The joke is in bad taste, there are a plethora of bad jokes out there with everything to do with all of this, this is one of them. But I think the rest of this joke, so to speak, suggests some kind of racial bias that I think comes into play, “he said.
The judge called the jury to question him and the jury claimed that he had told the joke, but refused to repeat it. The middle-aged juror appeared to be uncomfortable, groping for a portable microphone and speaking through a multi-colored mask as he addressed the judge, according to a court reporter.
“My opinion is that it had nothing to do with the case. It had nothing to do with Kyle and his charges,” the juror told the judge.
Both the defense and the prosecution agreed to remove the juror, and the judge admonished him as he did so.
“It is clear that the appearance of bias is present and would seriously undermine the outcome of the case,” explained Schroeder.
Blake’s family is “shocked and disgusted” by reports of the jury’s hoax that he was fired, his uncle said Thursday.
Kyle Rittenhouse’s TikTok profile photo.
Witness says he didn’t see a gun in Rosenbaum’s hand
On Thursday, Ryan Balch, a military veteran who was with Rittenhouse the night of the deadly shootings in Kenosha, said during the trial that he did not see a gun in Rosenbaum’s hand.
Balch was armed with an AR-15 and a pistol while wearing a bulletproof vest. He spent much of the night near Rittenhouse, describing Rittenhouse as “an impressionable young boy” who “seemed unequipped” and “inexperienced.” He also said that Rittenhouse told him he was a 19-year-old certified EMT.
Balch described Rosenbaum as “hyper-aggressive and acting violently” when questioned by Binger. He also said that he did not see Rosenbaum cause any physical harm to anyone the night of the shooting.
Balch also described an encounter he had with Rosenbaum, saying that Rosenbaum “threatened him and the defendant (Rittenhouse).”
“I turned around and had an exchange with one of the protesters, and I explained to that protester, ‘Hey, you know, I get it, I understand what you’re trying to do but not like this,’ and when I turned around Rosenbaum was right in front of my face, screaming and yelling.
“And I said, ‘Dude, back off, relax. I don’t know what your problem is.’ He said, ‘You know, if I catch any of you just tonight, I’m going to kill you,’ “Balch said, adding that Rittenhouse was close enough to hear what was mentioned.
Balch said Rosenbaum did not pick up any weapons or touch him.
“He had a bag full of what looked like chemicals to me,” Balch said. “I made the assumption at the time and told the FBI the same thing I thought it was to make Molotov cocktails.”
The bag Balch saw with Rosenbaum was the same one that was on the ground after Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum, Balch testified.
Journalist who saw the shooting says he felt in danger
Richie McGinniss, chief video director for The Daily Caller, testified Thursday at Rittenhouse’s trial.
Richie McGinniss, a reporter who was a few feet from Rittenhouse when the teen shot Rosenbaum dead, testified Thursday that he felt he was in danger during the shooting.
“I was really worried, because I was behind Rosenbaum, that he would catch me in whatever was about to happen,” he said.
“Given where he was, he was certainly in danger.”
Testimony is key to one of the charges against Rittenhouse: a first-degree felony recklessly jeopardizing safety.
McGinniss, chief video officer for the news website The Daily Caller, testified that he traveled to Kenosha to film parts of the riots that he felt were not being covered by other outlets. He said he felt that the presence of an armed group of men made the demonstration more dangerous.
“Every time there are weapons, it raises the level of danger in my mind,” he said.
That night, he was behind Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum in the seconds before the shooting. He said his eyes “were on the barrel of the gun because he didn’t want to end up on the receiving end of it.”
McGinniss said Rosenbaum appeared to lunge at Rittenhouse’s gun at the same time that Rittenhouse shot him.
“It was like, you know, if you pounced on someone, if someone pounced, they would probably stop, you know, from falling face down to the ground, but the shots were fired at the exact moment their momentum was advancing and that. it continued until Mr. Rosenbaum landed on the ground, “McGinniss said.
After the shooting, McGinniss tried to help Rosenbaum, who was lying lifeless on the ground. McGinniss and several other people drove Rosenbaum across the street to a car and then rode in the trunk to a nearby hospital.
“We drove down a little ramp and at the time I was alone with Mr. Rosenbaum in the back and I was telling him that we were going to have a beer together afterwards and that everything was going to be okay,” McGinniss said.
At times McGinniss was emotional during his testimony, wiping his face and sobbing as he watched video of the shooting.
“Is it difficult for you to see that?” Prosecutor Binger asked him.
“I certainly don’t like watching it,” McGinniss replied.
McGinniss said he told police that Rittenhouse was “trying to evade” people, including Rosenbaum, before the fatal shooting. Rittenhouse did not appear threatening other than the fact that he had a gun, McGinniss said.
Trends Wide’s Ashley Killough, Carma Hassan, Sara Sidner and Amir Vera contributed to this report.
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(Trends Wide) — The first man shot to death by Kyle Rittenhouse during protests in Wisconsin acted “very belligerently” and said he was shot, but was not perceived as a serious threat, a former marine testified Friday.
The testimony of Jason Lackowski, the state’s seventh witness, came after a second juror in Rittenhouse’s murder trial was thrown out due to her pregnancy.
A juror was fired Thursday for telling a joke to an officer earlier this week about the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old black man whose August 2020 injuries in Kenosha, Wisconsin, They sparked riots during which Rittenhouse, then 17, killed two men and wounded another.
Rittenhouse fired an AR-15 type weapon eight times in total during the riots: four shots at Rosenbaum, who was unarmed; two shots at an unarmed stranger who kicked Rittenhouse; a fatal shot at Anthony Huber, who struck Rittenhouse with a skateboard; and a shot at Gaige Grosskreutz, who had a pistol in his hand, according to the prosecution.
Rosenbaum and Huber, 26, were killed, and Grosskreutz, 27, was injured.
Lackowski, who was armed the night of the riots, said he had traveled to Kenosha to protect local property. He said he met Rittenhouse, who introduced himself as an emergency medical technician.
The former marine stated that he also encountered Rosenbaum, who “had been … acting very belligerent, had bluntly asked to be shot” but did not regard the man as a threat.
Lackowski said he perceived Rosenbaum as a “babbling idiot” and that he turned around and ignored him. He said Rosenbaum was “a misstep … to entice someone to do something,” an action that showed the jury how to take a quick step forward before taking a step back.
At one point Lackowski testified that he ran to the sound of gunfire and encountered Rittenhouse, who appeared “exhausted, in shock” and was still armed, on the run.
Rittenhouse “had indicated that he … did not shoot anyone” and that he needed help, Lackowski testified after forwarding a copy of his statement to the FBI to refresh his memory.
“I told him to run to the police who was on the road,” Lackowski recalled telling the defendant. Then, the witness said, there were more shots in the direction Rittenhouse was running.
Lackowski said he “fainted” at some point, but recalled seeing an injured Grosskreutz on the ground. After Grosskreutz was taken away for medical attention, Lackowski said he saw a gun on the ground. He emptied the magazine and the police told him to drop it.
Seeking to counter Rittenhouse’s self-defense strategy, a prosecutor noted that Lackowski did not use his firearm that night and that he was not assaulted.
“It wasn’t necessary,” the witness said.
Latest dismissal leaves 18 jurors
The latest jury removal leaves the panel with 18 jurors: eight men and 10 women.
The pregnant juror appeared on the jury box Friday wearing a blue mask. Judge Bruce Schroeder questioned her briefly before firing her.
“God bless you and good luck,” said the judge.
Schroeder then told the remaining jurors that panel member No. 27 was “experiencing mild discomfort, is pregnant and requested to be dismissed and I accepted that request with the consent of the attorneys.”
“We are 18,” he said after both parties agreed to dismiss the jury.
The jury will be reduced to 12 once deliberations begin, according to the judge. The jury was selected in a single day without the use of a preliminary questionnaire.
It is the first week of testimony in the trial of Rittenhouse, who is now 18 years old.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including first degree manslaughter, first degree reckless manslaughter and attempted first degree manslaughter. His lawyer says he acted in self-defense.
The prosecution has portrayed Rittenhouse as a young vigilante prone to violence, while the defense has maintained that he was defending himself.
On Friday, Huber’s great-aunt Susan Hughes described her niece’s son to the jury. He said they both had red hair and used to talk about art, music and Star Wars.
Hughes said Huber was an avid skater who even skated in the snow. Huber told him that he knew Blake and that he would go to the protests to record a video, he testified. He got his driver’s license on his birthday, the Friday before he was killed, he claimed.
Kariann Swart, Rosenbaum’s fiancee, also took the stand for the trial. They had been homeless, he said, and were staying in a motel at the time of his death.
Rosenbaum had left a hospital in Milwaukee the day he was killed, he said. He was carrying a plastic bag with papers, socks, deodorant and a toothbrush and toothpaste, he said.
Swart said the medical examiner called her around 4:00 am and informed her that he had been killed. He fell to his knees and cried. She said she had asked him not to go downtown because of the riots.
Swart said he later saw a video showing Rosenbaum dying.
“I broke down and I can’t get that image out of my head,” he testified.
The next day, according to Swart, he visited the spot at the car dealership where Rosenbaum was killed and put his hand on the still bloodstained pavement. She broke down, she said.
When questioned, Swart said Rosenbaum had been taking medication “to help” with bipolar disorder.
Kyle Rittenhouse, left, cap reversed, walks down Sheridan Road in Kenosha on Aug.25, 2020, with another armed civilian.
The joke that led to the removal of the first jury
A man on the jury was removed from office Thursday after he made a joke while being escorted to his car, Schroeder said.
“I’m going to summarize what I remember, what they told me,” said the judge. “He was telling a joke … he told the agent … he made a reference to telling a joke about ‘Why did it take seven shots to shoot Jacob Blake?’
Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Binger was especially critical of the incident.
“The joke is in bad taste, there are a plethora of bad jokes out there with everything to do with all of this, this is one of them. But I think the rest of this joke, so to speak, suggests some kind of racial bias that I think comes into play, “he said.
The judge called the jury to question him and the jury claimed that he had told the joke, but refused to repeat it. The middle-aged juror appeared to be uncomfortable, groping for a portable microphone and speaking through a multi-colored mask as he addressed the judge, according to a court reporter.
“My opinion is that it had nothing to do with the case. It had nothing to do with Kyle and his charges,” the juror told the judge.
Both the defense and the prosecution agreed to remove the juror, and the judge admonished him as he did so.
“It is clear that the appearance of bias is present and would seriously undermine the outcome of the case,” explained Schroeder.
Blake’s family is “shocked and disgusted” by reports of the jury’s hoax that he was fired, his uncle said Thursday.
Kyle Rittenhouse’s TikTok profile photo.
Witness says he didn’t see a gun in Rosenbaum’s hand
On Thursday, Ryan Balch, a military veteran who was with Rittenhouse the night of the deadly shootings in Kenosha, said during the trial that he did not see a gun in Rosenbaum’s hand.
Balch was armed with an AR-15 and a pistol while wearing a bulletproof vest. He spent much of the night near Rittenhouse, describing Rittenhouse as “an impressionable young boy” who “seemed unequipped” and “inexperienced.” He also said that Rittenhouse told him he was a 19-year-old certified EMT.
Balch described Rosenbaum as “hyper-aggressive and acting violently” when questioned by Binger. He also said that he did not see Rosenbaum cause any physical harm to anyone the night of the shooting.
Balch also described an encounter he had with Rosenbaum, saying that Rosenbaum “threatened him and the defendant (Rittenhouse).”
“I turned around and had an exchange with one of the protesters, and I explained to that protester, ‘Hey, you know, I get it, I understand what you’re trying to do but not like this,’ and when I turned around Rosenbaum was right in front of my face, screaming and yelling.
“And I said, ‘Dude, back off, relax. I don’t know what your problem is.’ He said, ‘You know, if I catch any of you just tonight, I’m going to kill you,’ “Balch said, adding that Rittenhouse was close enough to hear what was mentioned.
Balch said Rosenbaum did not pick up any weapons or touch him.
“He had a bag full of what looked like chemicals to me,” Balch said. “I made the assumption at the time and told the FBI the same thing I thought it was to make Molotov cocktails.”
The bag Balch saw with Rosenbaum was the same one that was on the ground after Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum, Balch testified.
Journalist who saw the shooting says he felt in danger
Richie McGinniss, chief video director for The Daily Caller, testified Thursday at Rittenhouse’s trial.
Richie McGinniss, a reporter who was a few feet from Rittenhouse when the teen shot Rosenbaum dead, testified Thursday that he felt he was in danger during the shooting.
“I was really worried, because I was behind Rosenbaum, that he would catch me in whatever was about to happen,” he said.
“Given where he was, he was certainly in danger.”
Testimony is key to one of the charges against Rittenhouse: a first-degree felony recklessly jeopardizing safety.
McGinniss, chief video officer for the news website The Daily Caller, testified that he traveled to Kenosha to film parts of the riots that he felt were not being covered by other outlets. He said he felt that the presence of an armed group of men made the demonstration more dangerous.
“Every time there are weapons, it raises the level of danger in my mind,” he said.
That night, he was behind Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum in the seconds before the shooting. He said his eyes “were on the barrel of the gun because he didn’t want to end up on the receiving end of it.”
McGinniss said Rosenbaum appeared to lunge at Rittenhouse’s gun at the same time that Rittenhouse shot him.
“It was like, you know, if you pounced on someone, if someone pounced, they would probably stop, you know, from falling face down to the ground, but the shots were fired at the exact moment their momentum was advancing and that. it continued until Mr. Rosenbaum landed on the ground, “McGinniss said.
After the shooting, McGinniss tried to help Rosenbaum, who was lying lifeless on the ground. McGinniss and several other people drove Rosenbaum across the street to a car and then rode in the trunk to a nearby hospital.
“We drove down a little ramp and at the time I was alone with Mr. Rosenbaum in the back and I was telling him that we were going to have a beer together afterwards and that everything was going to be okay,” McGinniss said.
At times McGinniss was emotional during his testimony, wiping his face and sobbing as he watched video of the shooting.
“Is it difficult for you to see that?” Prosecutor Binger asked him.
“I certainly don’t like watching it,” McGinniss replied.
McGinniss said he told police that Rittenhouse was “trying to evade” people, including Rosenbaum, before the fatal shooting. Rittenhouse did not appear threatening other than the fact that he had a gun, McGinniss said.
Trends Wide’s Ashley Killough, Carma Hassan, Sara Sidner and Amir Vera contributed to this report.
