“The judge in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse said on Friday he would allow the jury to consider that the teenager provoked an encounter with one of two men he is charged with killing during racial justice protests in a Wisconsin city last year. The ruling is a boost for prosecutors because it opens the door for them to argue that Rittenhouse was the aggressor, which would raise the bar for the teenager’s argument that he was ambushed and acted in self-defense.”
“Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus showed grainy drone video of the Rosenbaum shooting as he argued that Rittenhouse raised his AR-15-style rifle shortly before the deadly encounter, initiating the confrontation. Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder stepped down from the bench to watch the video on a TV with Rittenhouse standing close behind him leaning in and looking on. The judge agreed the issue should be up the jury to decide. ‘It’s the jury’s case and I think they should make the critical decisions,’ Schroeder said. ‘My decision will be to submit the case to the jury with the provocation instruction and you can argue the strength or lack of strength of the evidence'” – Reuters