Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Judge dismisses misdemeanor gun charge in homicide trial

The judge presiding over the double homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse has dismissed one of the counts against him, a misdemeanor charge for possessing a dangerous weapon – an AR-15-style rifle – under age 18.

A trial for Mr Rittenhouse, who faces five felony charges related to killing two men and injuring another in the aftermath of police violence protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is drawing to a close, with closing arguments by both legal teams set to begin on 15 November, with a verdict to follow.

On Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed a key charge before the jury heard closing remarks, after several attempts by defence attorneys to remove it. Judge Schroeder argued that the charge, which is punishable up to nine months in prison, was drawn from poorly written Wisconsin law, and determined that the shorter barrel size of Mr Rittenhouse’s rifle meant that he did not violate it.

The dismissal marks the second time that the judge agreed to drop a charge, after dismissing another misdemeanor over violating curfew.

Mr Rittenhouse was 17 when he traveled to Wisconsin in the middle of protests in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake and armed himself with a rifle that would be used to kill two men – Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber – and injure another, Gaige Grosskreutz, on 25 August 2020.