Instigator or victim? Rittenhouse on trial in Kenosha

A Wisconsin court commissioner said Kyle Rittenhouse, pictured during a hearing on Friday, poses a flight risk.
Nam Y. Huh

A prosecutor says Kyle Rittenhouse instigated the confrontation that led him to shoot three people on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a turbulent protest against racial injustice.

But Rittenhouse’s attorney says his client acted in self-defense after one of the men dove for his gun and others kicked him in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard.

The two accounts came during opening statements Tuesday at Rittenhouse's murder trial.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third with an assault-style rifle during the summer of 2020.

He could get life in prison if convicted.

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