usatoday – Kyle Rittenhouse seen at the bar with a white power sign, song Proud Boys
MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin prosecutors have asked a judge to order Kyle Rittenhouse to stay out of bars and violent white power groups like the Proud Boys.
The demand comes a week after Rittenhouse was seen drinking at a tavern outside Kenosha after pleading not guilty – via Zoom from his attorney’s office in Racine – during his arraignment on January 5 for homicide and other charges related to the August 25 violence in Kenosha. .
Rittenhouse, who is free on $ 2 million bail, had just turned 18 two days earlier. After the hearing, he, his mother, and several other adults went to Pudgy’s Pub in Mount Pleasant. He was seen drinking beer while wearing a t-shirt reading Free as F —.
Rittenhouse is accused of shooting and killing two people and injuring a third during the Kenosha Troubles following the police shooting on Jacob Blake. Blake was shot in the back and was left paralyzed. The officer who fired the shots will not be charged, prosecutors said this month.
Learn more about the violence in Kenosha:A visual timeline of violence in Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake
According to prosecutors’ motion, before entering the bar, Rittenhouse posed outside with two men as they put all of their thumbs and forefingers together in what looks like an upside down OK sign, which became a symbol used by white supremacists.
Once inside, Rittenhouse drank three beers in 90 minutes, which is legal in Wisconsin as he was with his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse. Prosecutors, however, demanded that he be prohibited from drinking alcohol in the future because alcohol consumption often leads to violence.
The motion also states that Rittenhouse was serenated by five men singing, “Proud of Your Boy,” which prosecutors say was written for a Disney film but became the Proud Boys’ anthem. A member of the white supremacist group has been identified as being involved in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“The defendant’s continued association with members of a group that prides itself on violence and the use of their symbols, raises the significant possibility of future harm. Further, this association may serve to intimidate potential witnesses,” indicates the motion.
John Pierce, a Los Angeles lawyer who acted as Rittenhouse’s online fundraiser and who appeared with Wendy Rittenhouse on conservative online talk shows, threatened to sue several people for libel for having suggested the teenager was a white supremacist.
Criminal defense attorney for Pierce and Rittenhouse said he acted in self-defense when he killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, with an assault rifle Rittenhouse was carrying that evening- the. He told police he kept a private business and provided first aid to anyone injured during the protests.
No hearing on the prosecutors’ request had been scheduled for Wednesday evening.
Follow reporter Bruce Vielmetti on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.
