Judge orders Kyle Rittenhouse rifle and magazine to be destroyed

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Washington Examiner

The assault-style rifle and ammunition Kyle Rittenhouse used in self-defense to kill two people and wound another during the 2020 Kenosha riots will be destroyed by the state and not returned to the teenager as requested, a Wisconsin judge ruled Friday.

Judge Bruce Schroeder, the same judge who presided over Rittenhouse's criminal trial last year, said prosecutors and defense attorneys will be given video footage of the destruction, which is likely to take place in April.

 

Rittenhouse, who was not at the hearing, was found not guilty in November on all charges related to the fatal shootings in a landmark case that captivated and divided much of the nation.

His attorney, Mark Richards, filed a motion on Jan. 19 asking prosecutors to return Rittenhouse's rifle, ammunition, mask, and some of the clothing he was wearing the night of the shootings. Some of Rittenhouse's clothing has already been returned.

Richards and David Hancock, a spokesman for the now-19-year-old, said Rittenhouse wanted to destroy the rifle himself and trash the rest of the items so they cannot be used to glorify the shootings.