Kyle Rittenhouse: Alleged Kenosha shooter posts $2 million bail and leaves jail

He’s accused of fatally shooting two people during August civil rights protests in Wisconsin

Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager charged with fatally shooting two people during police brutality protests in Wisconsin, left jail on Friday after his bond was posted, authorities confirmed.

Authorities in Wisconsin extradited Mr Rittenhouse, 17, from Illinois and charged him with fatally shooting two protesters, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and wounding a third man, during August protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He’s also facing a weapons charge for illegally possessing a gun.

His bail was set at $2m.

Mr Rittenhouse contests the charges and argues he acted in self-defence.

The teenager became a celebrity among certain conservatives, who argued he was there trying to stop rioting in Kenosha. A bail fund, set up two days after charges were filed, went on to collect around $2m from supporters around the country. 

Mr Rittenhouse told The Washington Post on Thursday he illegally had a friend purchase the military-style rifle he is said to have used in the shootings, and that he didn’t regret arriving armed in the middle of the tense situation on the ground.

“I feel I had to protect myself,” he said. “I would have died that night if I didn’t.”

Protests broke out in late August in Kenosha after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back on 23 August while responding to a domestic incident. 

The shooting inspired both peaceful protests and riots in the days that followed. Videos from demonstrations on 25 August show Mr Rittenhouse painting over graffiti, claiming to be associated with a militia, and the moments before and after the shooting. Mr Rittenhouse can be seen arguing with and pointing his weapon at protesters.