Category Archives: Wisconsin

Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty after fatally shooting two in Kenosha unrest

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Rittenhouse killed two people and injured a third at protests last year after a white officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back

A jury on Friday found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on charges related to his shooting dead two people at an anti-racism protest and injuring a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, after a tumultuous trial that gripped America.

Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, when he shot them with an assault rifle as he roamed the streets of Kenosha with other armed men acting as a self-described militia during protests in August 2020, after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back.

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Kenosha shooting: jury finds Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty – video

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A jury on Friday found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on charges related to his shooting dead two people at an anti-racism protest and injuring a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, after a tumultuous trial that gripped the US

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Tense scenes outside court as protesters await verdict of Kyle Rittenhouse – video

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As the jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial deliberated, dozens of protesters – some for Rittenhouse, some against – stood outside the Kenosha county courthouse in Wisconsin. Some talked quietly with those on the other side and others shouted. One group was chanting ‘Black Lives Matter!’ while others responded with ‘self-defense is not a crime!’ One woman could be heard repeatedly calling Rittenhouse supporters ‘white supremacists’

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Kyle Rittenhouse trial: sense of unease amid wait for verdict in Wisconsin

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The jurors will determine what the case represents in the eyes of the law, but to a divided America the implications are much larger

After the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who as a 17-year-old fatally shot two men and wounded a third, finally closed and the jury was sent out to deliberate its verdict, a crowd of supporters stood outside the Kenosha county courthouse volleying chants in the cold November dark.

“Black Lives Matter!” one group shouted.

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Kyle Rittenhouse trial: yelling, tears and surprises reflect divided America

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Analysis: The jury is to hear closing arguments in a murder trial featuring prosecution missteps and a controversial judge

As testimony wrapped up this week in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, a wary America has realized that the trial of the young man on charges linked to his killing of two racial justice protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has not played out like many people expected.

With more than 30 witnesses taking the stand throughout a tumultuous week, a few called on by the state appeared to help Rittenhouse’s legal team with its claim that he was acting in self-defense. That added to notable errors made by prosecutors, as well as a judge with a simultaneously stern and flamboyant courtroom style who has shocked with controversial comments and outbursts.

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Kyle Rittenhouse trial hangs in balance as defence requests mistrial – video report

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The murder case against Kyle Rittenhouse has been thrown into jeopardy after his lawyers requested a mistrial over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of him by the prosecution. On the seventh day of the trial, Rittenhouse took to the stand to insist he had acted in self-defence. The 18-year-old is on trial on charges of killing two men and injuring a third during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. 

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Kyle Rittenhouse lawyers seek mistrial as judge upbraids prosecution

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  • Judge accuses Thomas Binger of improper line of questioning
  • Rittenhouse, 18, claims self-defense as trial continues for now

The murder case against Kyle Rittenhouse was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday when his lawyers asked for a mistrial over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the chief prosecutor.

The judge did not immediately rule on the request and is allowing the trial to continue.

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‘Extraordinarily rare’: intact 1,200-year-old canoe recovered from Wisconsin lake

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The 15-foot dugout canoe was first noticed by a maritime archeologist and her friend while joyriding on underwater scooters

A 1,200-year-old, 15-foot (4.5-metre) dugout canoe has been taken from Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin, after two divers stumbled upon it while riding underwater scooters.

The vessel was recovered from roughly 27ft of water and brought to shore this week.

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Kenosha police accused of ‘deputizing’ militia vigilantes during Jacob Blake protests

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Lawsuit brought by Gaige Grosskreutz, who was wounded by Kyle Rittenhouse during anti-police brutality protests in August 2020

The police department in the Wisconsin city of Kenosha is facing new legal action after being accused of “deputizing” a group of militia vigilantes during anti-police brutality protests last year in which 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people.

The action, brought by Gaige Grosskreutz, who was wounded during the incident, alleges that local police effectively deputized a “band of white nationalist vigilantes” during protests sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake, who is now paralyzed from the waist down, by a white police officer.

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Wisconsin says hunters can kill 300 wolves this fall against biologists’ advice

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• Hunters killed double limit during February breeding season

• State wildlife officials recommended a 130-kill limit

Wisconsin wildlife officials have authorized the killing of 300 wolves for the 2021 fall hunting season, more than doubling biologists’ recommendation of a 130-wolf kill limit.

Scientists with the state department of natural resources (DNR) recommended the 130 limit after the four-day hunting season in February saw hunters kill almost twice as many wolves as allotted during the wolves’ breeding season, raising concerns over potential long-term ramifications for the population.

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‘Killing spree’: Wisconsin’s wolf population plunges after protections removed, study finds

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Researchers blame poaching and hunting far beyond quotas after species dropped from endangered list

As many as one-third of Wisconsin’s gray wolves probably died at the hands of humans in the months after the federal government announced it was ending legal protections, according to a study released on Monday.

Poaching and a February hunt that far exceeded kill quotas were largely responsible for the drop-off, University of Wisconsin scientists said.

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27 years, prison and youth detention: how two friends survived a rotten penal system

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Wisconsin’s hardline criminal justice policies ensnared Hamid Abd-Al-Jabbar and David Thompson. Over decades, they helped each other find freedom

This story was originally published by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here.

On a December afternoon in 2018, Hamid Abd-Al-Jabbar pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald’s on Milwaukee’s north side. Overhead, under the company’s iconic arches, the “M” was smashed out. A stretch of cracked pavement connected the restaurant to the headquarters of 414LIFE, the violence prevention nonprofit where he worked.

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Workers at firm owned by top Trump donors exposed to higher Covid rates

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Employees at Uline, owned by billionaires Dick and Liz Uihlein, have filed numerous safety complaints, investigation finds

Employees at a private Wisconsin company owned by two top Republican donors in the US have faced significantly higher rates of Covid-19 infection and have filed numerous complaints about workplace safety to federal authorities, according to a Guardian investigation into Uline.

Related: Billionaires backed Republicans who sought to reverse US election results

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Jacob Blake: officers will not be charged in shooting that left Black man paralyzed

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Prosecutor says white officer who shot Blake several times in the back would not be charged due to Wisconsin self-defense law

A Wisconsin prosecutor announced Tuesday that he will not bring criminal charges against the white police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back from close range last August, which left the Black Kenosha father paralyzed from the waist down.

Michael Gravely, Kenosha county district attorney, said during a press conference that his office determined that the officer, Rusten Sheskey, would not be charged based on the state’s law relating to self-defense.

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US pharmacist who tried to ruin Covid vaccine doses is a conspiracy theorist, police say

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Officers say Steven Brandenburg told investigators he intentionally tried to spoil the doses because he believed the vaccine could change DNA

A Wisconsin pharmacist who was convinced the world was “crashing down” told police he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine because he believed the shots would mutate people’s DNA, according to court documents released on Monday.

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States targeted in Texas election fraud lawsuit condemn ‘cacophony of bogus claims’

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Attorneys general from both parties reject baseless allegations in case filed with US supreme court

Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Thursday urged the US supreme court to reject a lawsuit filed by Texas and backed by Donald Trump seeking to undo Joe Biden’s victory, saying the case has no factual or legal grounds and makes “bogus” claims.

“What Texas is doing in this proceeding is to ask this court to reconsider a mass of baseless claims about problems with the election that have already been considered, and rejected, by this court and other courts,” Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic attorney general, wrote in a filing to the nine justices.

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Trump’s latest batch of election lawsuits fizzle as dozens of losses pile up

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President no closer to overturning result, with just one small victory in a month’s worth of cases

For a man obsessed with winning, Donald Trump is losing a lot.

In the month since the election, the president and his legal team have come no closer in their frantic efforts to overturn the result, notching up dozens of losses in courts across the country, with more rolling in by the day.

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Wisconsin and Arizona certify Biden wins in yet another blow to Trump

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Wisconsin certification comes after partial recount expanded Biden’s margin, as president continues to fight results

Joe Biden’s victories in the US presidential election battlegrounds of Arizona and Wisconsin were officially recognised on Monday, handing Donald Trump six defeats out of six in his bid to stop states certifying their results.

The finalised vote counts took Biden a step closer to the White House and dealt yet another blow to Trump’s longshot efforts to undermine the outcome.

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Joe Biden gains votes in Wisconsin county after Trump-ordered recount

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Milwaukee recount, which cost Trump campaign $3m, boosts Democratic president-elect days before state must certify result

A recount in Wisconsin’s largest county demanded by President Donald Trump’s election campaign ended on Friday with the president-elect, Joe Biden, gaining votes.

After the recount in Milwaukee county, Biden made a net gain of 132 votes, out of nearly 460,000 cast. Overall, the Democrat gained 257 votes to Trump’s 125.

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Covid rampages across US, unifying a splintered nation as cases surge

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The virus is on the rise so uniformly across the vast landmass of the US, that records are being shattered daily

The Disunited States of America are united once more. After a brutal election that exacerbated bitter partisan divisions and left the country feeling as though it had been torn in two, it has at last been thrown back together.

For all the wrong reasons.

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