“He's on his way home. He wants to get on with his life,” Defense Attorney Mark Richards said during a press conference, of his client Kyle Rittenhouse on Friday.
Minutes before Richards spoke, a jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all five counts in his murder trial connected to the shootings of three people in Kenosha during unrest in the summer of 2020, after a Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by a white police officer.
Rittenhouse, 18, testified he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors argued he provoked the violence.
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The verdict came on the fourth day of deliberations as jurors weighed charges against Rittenhouse, aiming to determine whether he was the instigator of a night of bloodshed in Kenosha or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.
“[Kyle] has a huge sense of relief for what the jury did to him today,” Richards continued. “He wishes none of this would have ever happened.”
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Rittenhouse was not present while Richards spoke from his Racine office.
“He's had 24 hour security since this happened,” Richards said. “We're thankful that the judge protected his address. I don't think [he'll] continue to live in this area.”
The defense attorney continued, saying that he thought, after the trial, living in the area for Rittenhouse might be “too dangerous.”
When asked during the press conference if the defendant still had aspirations to be a first responder – something Rittenhouse alluded to in his testimony – Richards responded Rittenhouse “wants to be a nurse.”
“He has to get on with his life. The best he can.”
