Livestream: Testimony From Witnesses Who Accompanied Rittenhouse

KENOSHA, WI — Jurors will hear more testimony on Friday from witnesses who were in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, 18.

Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted homicide, two counts of recklessly endangering safety and possessing a firearm while under 18.

The trial begins at 9 a.m. CST. The following is a live stream of the courtroom.

Jurors sat through hours of stream footage as prosecution and defense interviewed Richard McGinniss, a video director for the Daily Caller who recorded Rittenhouse, and Ryan Balch, an Army veteran from West Bend who roamed the streets with Rittenhouse before the shooting.

Some of the footage showed Anthony Huber, 26, Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Gabe Grosskreutz, 26, shortly after they were shot. Huber and Rosenbaum both died, and Grosskreutz was injured.

The days of protest in Kenosha followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by a white police officer. The officer was cleared of wrongdoing by local and federal investigators.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger showed the jury cell phone footage McGinniss took when he followed Rittenhouse and when he tried to help Rosenbaum, who was shot at a Car Source parking lot.

McGinniss claimed that Rosenbaum had lunged for Rittenhouse's gun seconds before the shooting. Binger pointed out that McGinniss used the word "fell" in a prior interview, but McGinniss said he was correcting himself at the witness stand.

A medical professional said that Rosenbaum fell forward after the first two shots and that the last bullet Rittenhouse fired hit him in the back. Binger said at the opening statement Tuesday.

McGinniss said at the witness stand that he moved out of the way of the line of fire as Rittenhouse's rifle went off, but nothing physically happened to him. He said he checked his legs in case he had been shot.

Balch said he accompanied Rittenhouse and a group of civilians with long guns in the streets of Kenosha to act as a "deterrent" from any possible looting or arson. "He picked me," he said as he spent the evening close to the defendant.

A person that fit Rosenbaum's description appeared that night after the Kenosha police pushed protesters away from Civic Center Park and Sheridan road, Balch said. The person acted "hyper-aggressively," but didn't physically hurt anyone, he added.

There are 19 people seated on the jury after one juror was excused from the court for making a joke. Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder said the juror was cut because he wanted to keep public confidence in the case, and the joke was about the Jacob Blake shooting.

Only 12 jurors are needed to make a verdict.