Kyle Rittenhouse is being sued by the estate of Joseph Rosenbaum, one of two men he fatally shot during a riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020.
Rittenhouse was cleared of wrongdoing at trial because he was acting in self-defense.
The Rosenbaum estate is suing Rittenhouse along with Kenosha County Sheriff David G. Beth, former Chief of Police for the Kenosha Police Department (KPD) Daniel G. Miskinis and acting Chief of Police for the KPD Patrick D. Patton. The Rosenbaum estate is also suing several county sheriff's departments, including Kenosha, Waukesha, Racine, Sauk, Walworth, Washington, Menomonee Falls, and West Allis Police Department.
Along with Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse also fatally shot Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz in self-defense.
Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, possession of a dangerous weapon as a person under 18 at the time of the incident, and failure to comply with an emergency order from state or local government.
Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges.
"I’m being sued again for defending my life."
“These lawsuits are making it harder and harder for me to move on with my life,” Rittenhouse told Texas Scorecard of the new lawsuit. “It is extremely difficult to go outside without fear of being harassed or assaulted because of the lies spread in these lawsuits."
"No one should have to continue to defend the fact that they acted in self-defense.”
Rosenbaum's estate's filing claims that he was "peacefully" protesting at the time of the shooting.
"Rosenbaum was among many who peacefully protested [Blake's] shooting and Kenosha's pattern of racist and violent behavior by police officers and other officials," reads the estate of Rosenbaum's filing, citing Rittenhouse as a 17-year-old who crossed state lines from his home in Illinois to Wisconsin while "carrying an assault rifle on the streets of Kenosha in open violation of the law."
The lawsuit claims the other defendants did not treat Rittenhouse as a "threat to the safety of themselves or the citizens they were sworn to protect." Instead, the law enforcement Defendants deputized these armed individuals, conspired with them, and ratified their actions by letting them patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit. In addition, the law enforcement Defendants thanked Defendant Rittenhouse and other armed individuals, gave them water, and allowed them to openly defy the emergency curfew order that was in place. The law enforcement Defendants even made plans to funnel the protestors toward the armed individuals "deal with them."
The estate of Rosenbaum's filing claims Rittenhouse "fired his assault rifle indiscriminately multiple times at citizens on the street," leading to the death of Rosenbaum, Huber, and injury of Grosskreutz.
The suit further cites other Wisconsin counties and police departments culpable in Rosenbaum's death.
