A juror has been dismissed from the Kyle Rittenhouse trial after it emerged that he had made a racial joke about the shooting of Jacob Blake.
The bombshell move came at the start of the third day of the high-profile trial with Judge Bruce Schroeder making it clear that public confidence in the outcome of the case is paramount.
Called to speak to the judge, the juror refused to repeat the joke that had already been outlined by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger.
Addressing the court Binger said his understanding was that the joke was, 'Why did it take seven shots to shot Jacob Blake? Because they ran out of bullets
'The implication of the punchline was that it if Kenosha police had more bullets they would have continued to shoot.'
Binger continued, 'I think the rest of this joke suggests some sort of racial bias which comes into play in the subtext of this case and beyond.'
A juror was dismissed Thursday morning from the Kyle Rittenhouse trial after it emerged that he had made a racial joke about the shooting of Jacob Blake
It was the shooting of Blake (pictured), a black man, by a Kenosha Police Officer on August 23, 2020, that sparked nights of protests and riots in Kenosha
It was the shooting of Blake, a black man, by a Kenosha Police Officer on August 23, 2020, that sparked nights of Black Lives Matters protests and riots in Kenosha.
And it was amid this civil unrest that Rittenhouse armed himself with his AR015 and took to the streets on the fateful night of August 25, 2020, when he shot and killed two men and gravely injured a third.
Rusten Sheskey shot a black man, Jacob Blake, in Wisconsin last year
Schroeder was in no mood to hear the juror's protestations that his joke had 'nothing to do with the case,' as he dismissed him.
He said, 'I'm going to tell you I've talked quite a bit about public confidence in the outcome of the trial and regardless of whether the issue is as grave as (Mr. Binger) presented it in terms of inner feelings it's clear the appearance of bias is present and would seriously undermine the outcome of the case. That in itself would be conditions for discharge.'
Rittenhouse told a reporter on the scene that he was a qualified EMT there to administer ‘medical’ to people in need and prepared to go ‘into harm’s way.’
The revelation came as testimony continued Thursday with Daily Caller Chief Video Director Richie McGinniss taking the stand.
McGinnis interviewed Rittenhouse on the night of August 25, 2020 as he had travelled to Kenosha to cover the unrest.
Speaking on camera Rittenhouse claimed that he was an EMT – he is not - and armed to ‘protect himself.’ He went onto say he worked as a lifeguard, which was true.
He said, ‘I’m running into harm’s way. We’re running medical. We’re going in and we’re getting people. You get hurt I’m grabbing you.’
He was filmed walking with avowed ‘boogaloo boi’ Ryan Balch yelling, ‘Medic! Medic coming through!’ And asking if anyone needed medical help.
Asked by Assistant District Attorney Binger if McGinniss had ever encountered a medic armed with an AR-15 before McGinnis, who had covered the chaos in Seattle, said, ‘No.’
He said, ‘I saw a lot of people who were medics some of whom were armed but not with an AR-15. I just recall in Seattle a medic armed with a handgun.’
Rittenhouse listened intently having arrived in court this morning carrying a large black briefcase as he has done each day. Dressed in suit and tie the young man, who once wanted to be a police officer and passed himself off as an EMT, took notes and appeared more like a legal intern at the defense table then the defendant in the case.
During Wednesday's trial, Rittenhouse averted his eyes as harrowing scenes of Joseph Rosembaum taking his final breaths were played in Kenosha County Courthouse.
Bystanders crowded Rosenbaum who groaned in a protracted death rattle in the moments after he was shot four times by Rittenhouse who had fled the scene.
Moments earlier, the court had watched further livestream footage from the night of August 25, 2020, in which Rittenhouse could be seen being chased by Rosenbaum, while Daily Caller reporter Richie McGinness followed on. McGinness was so close to the shooting Rittenhouse has been charged with reckless endangerment.
Rittenhouse sat before a monitor and watched those scenes, wiggling his pen rapidly. His discomfort during the barrage of video evidence entered after lunch was clear.
Looking back at the screen for a period of time Rittenhouse appeared emotional. At one point he put his hand to his cheek and wiped his eye.
Judge Bruce Schroeder made it clear that public confidence in the outcome of the case is paramount
Jurors at the Kenosha shooter's trial have heard jolting audio of the first four shots fired by Kyle Rittenhouse on the night of August 25, 2020
Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (left), 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020. Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber (right), 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting as the narrator shouts, 'He shot him! He shot him!' McGinness is filmed taking off his shirt and attempting to stem Rosenbaum's bleeding. Meanwhile Rittenhouse, who had earlier walked the streets declaring himself a medic stands dumbly by, before turning and fleeing the scene, leaving others to call for medics.
In other chaotic footage the panicked crowd can be seen carrying the shirtless, dying man to a nearby vehicle and loading him into back in a bid to get him to medics.
Members of the jury were visibly disturbed as more footage showed Rittenhouse on the ground shooting up first at Anthony Huber then at Gaige Grosskreutz who was filmed howling in pain, screaming for a medic, having been shot in the arm.
In scenes of violent confusion a man can be heard screaming, 'People are getting shot everywhere!' as Rittenhouse is seen, pointing his gun and walking away from the scene.
Under direct examination Detective Martin Howard, recounted how he had chronicled Rittenhouse's injuries when he saw him in the early hours of August 26, at Antioch Illinois, police station.
Detective Howard recalled that Rittenhouse had a scratch above his left eyebrow, a cut on his lower lip, some redness on his chest and near his belly button, redness on the tip of one thumb, a scratch on his back and two lumps, 'the size of a penny' on the back of his head behind his left ear, not visible through his thick hair but clear to the touch.
Defense attorney Richards returned to this theme during cross examination and neatly converted it to his cause, saying, 'I guess what the state is getting at is the injuries weren't serious he shouldn't have shot.'
He continued, 'When you're getting hit in the head you don't know what's going to happen do you? When somebody's hitting you again with their skateboard you don't know. When somebody puts their bare hand on your firearm you don't know if that person is going to get your gun, turn it and use it on you.'
He concluded, 'Sir if a weapon is taken from somebody it could be used against them as a deadly, dangerous weapon. Correct?'
Detective Howard agreed, 'Correct.'
Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year
The defense claims Rittenhouse tried to turn himself in for shooting Rosenbaum, but was seized by a mob, including Huber, who they claimed tried to 'decapitate' Rittenhouse
Richards play never-before-seen FBI surveillance footage that tracked body-heat using infrared technology. In it Rosenbaum and Rittenhouse can be seen, from a distance of 9000 feet, as two white blobs – Rittenhouse marked as person of interest 1, Rosenbaum as person of interest 2.
Rosenbaum can be seen walking parallel to Rittenhouse then disappearing between parked vehicles before he emerges behind Rittenhouse in apparent pursuit.
'Correct me if I'm wrong,' Richards said, 'But this looks like the perfect ambush.'
Richards highlighted the fact that the first shot of the night was not fired by Rittenhouse but by a man called Joshua Ziminski who was about 30 feet behind Rittenhouse when he fired one shot. Rittenhouse fired off four rounds seconds later.
And the defense circled back to some of the footage that had shocked jurors earlier, pointing to the bangs of bats being smashed against cars and pausing at a point where the words, 'Friendly! Friendly! Friendly!' can clearly be heard.
Those words were shouted by Rittenhouse as he was being chased by Rosenbaum who, it was noted was steadily gaining ground.
Rittenhouse turned to face Rosenbaum with his gun but, according to Howard, the man was deterred only briefly and pressed on.
Defense Mark Richards, center described a chaotic scene on the night of the protests that scared Rittenhouse and hindered his decision making that led to the two deaths that night. He showed photos of the moment Huber was shot
In opening statements on Tuesday, both sides agreed on one point; there is no mystery to this trial. 'I'm not going to ask you to solve a murder,' defense attorney Mark Richards told the court. 'It's not a who dunnit?'
Instead, this is a tale of competing narratives.
In the version offered by Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, Rittenhouse is a 'chaos tourist' who recklessly wielded his AR-15, shooting two unarmed men and grievously wounding another. He was a fantasist, a wannabe vigilante and, of all the people in the streets that night, he alone fired his weapon at anyone.
To Rittenhouse's defense, he is a panicked 17-year-old who acted in self-defense. He believed his life was in danger, according to Richards; first from Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, who was intent on killing him and taking his gun.
In a moment of high drama Richards quoted from footage that showed Rosenbaum shouting, 'Shoot me n*****! Shoot me n*****!'
Rosenbaum had been released from a mental health facility earlier that day – information that the jury may not hear after the prosecution sought to exclude it. He had attempted to commit suicide.
Next came Anthony Huber, 26. and Gaige Grosskreutz, 27. All were part of what Richards characterized as a violent mob, with Huber and Grosskreutz attacking Rittenhouse as he lay on his back on the ground.
Huber wielded his skateboard in an attempt to 'decapitate' Rittenhouse, he said.
Grosskreutz came at him with a Glock.
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