The attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, argued Friday against his extradition, saying it will put him in danger.
Rittenhouse, 17, is facing multiple homicide charges after two people were killed and a third person was seriously injured during a night of unrest in Kenosha on August 25 over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
He was arrested in his home state of Illinois, where he remains in custody.
Rittenhouse appeared on a brief virtual hearing on Friday, wearing a blue face mask from a Lake County, Illinois, detention facility. Prior to the hearing, his attorneys filed a petition for habeas corpus saying that “to extradite Rittenhouse would be to turn him over to the mob.”
People have threatened the teen’s life and “encouraged fellow inmates to kill Rittenhouse and have offered bounties,” attorneys John Pierce and Michael Baker wrote in the petition.
During Friday’s hearing, Pierce called the case “a very unique, extraordinary situation” and said that there is a “massive amount of video evidence that shows that there’s beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is not a legitimate criminal prosecution.”
An extradition hearing for Rittenhouse has been set for October 30.
Mike Nerheim, the Lake County state’s attorney, told reporters after Friday’s hearing that his office’s position is that Rittenhouse should be tried in Kenosha and that he doesn’t think there would be any elevated danger if he’s extradited.
“I don’t know that he’s in any more or less danger here than he would be there,” Nerheim said, adding that there have been threats made while Rittenhouse has been in custody.
“There’s really only four bases within which you can challenge extradition. One is, is the paperwork sufficient on its face? The other one is, is he charged with a crime? Is the person charged with that crime and is he a fugitive? So, this is a very limited scope. The review here is very limited … really the main issues will be dealt with in Kenosha,” Nerheim said.
Rittenhouse’s attorneys have previously said he was acting in self-defense when he opened fire.
He’s been charged with intentionally killing Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. Videos on social media show that a teenager with a long gun scuffled with people near a car dealership and opened fire that night, a criminal complaint says.
Rittenhouse was able to leave the shooting scene still armed because he walked toward officers with his hands up, Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskin has said. He was arrested 30 miles away in Antioch, Illinois.
