Kyle Rittenhouse Cries During His Testimony

The one moment in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial that is dominating the news cycle isn’t Monday’s testimony from survivor Gaige Grosskreutz himself.

Or when the prosecution rested their case Tuesday after calling 22 witnesses to the stand.

Or even when the presiding judge, Judge Bruce Schroeder, admonished the prosecution twice for their line of questioning when Rittenhouse took the stand Wednesday.

It was none of those. It’s this moment:

Rittenhouse got on the stand Wednesday and “cried.”

The 18 year-old was asked by his attorney to retell the details of that fateful night.

And Rittenhouse did so, dramatically.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself,” he said, according to CNN.

Rittenhouse said that Rosenbaum had threatened to kill him and the other armed men he was with. When Rittenhouse had gotten separated from the group, Rosenbaum allegedly ambushed him and he was afraid that Rosenbaum would follow through on his threat.

This is when he cries loudly and the judge decides it’s time for a ten minute break.

Here’s what Rittenhouse said when the court resumed, from CNN:

Rittenhouse testified that he heard another man, Joshua Ziminski, tell Rosenbaum to “get him and kill him.” Rosenbaum started to chase the teenager in a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him, but Rittenhouse said he believed at the time that the thrown object was a chain.

Rittenhouse then heard a gunshot behind him, he said. Police detectives testified earlier in the trial that Ziminski fired that initial shot in the air, and Ziminski has separately pleaded not guilty to three charges related to that night.

Seconds after that gunshot, Rittenhouse turned and saw Rosenbaum, 36, coming at him with his arms out front, he said. “I remember his hand on the barrel of my gun,” Rittenhouse testified. He then shot Rosenbaum four times, killing him.

Rittenhouse then tried to run down the street to where police were situated to turn himself in, he testified, but a “mob was chasing me.” While running, he became lightheaded and fell to the ground, he said.

An unknown person jumped at him trying to kick him, and Rittenhouse fired at the person twice. “I thought if I were to be knocked out, he would have stomped my face in if I didn’t fire.”

Rittenhouse also said that Huber hit him with his skateboard before he fatally shot him. Lastly, Grosskreutz lunged toward him, pointing his personal pistol in Rittenhouse’s direction before the teen fired his rifle at him as well. Rittenhouse said he was going to turn himself in but he was being chased by a “mob.”

Then it was time for the cross examination led by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger. The 18 year-old admitted that he had a friend named Dominick Black buy him the AR-15 style weapon because he thought it “looked cool.”

“I didn’t know if it was going to kill them but I used deadly force to stop the threat that was attacking me,” he said.

During the cross examination, Judge Schroeder had the jury leave the room twice just so that he could scold the prosecutor. Remember this was the same judge that said the people that Rittenhouse shot could not be referred to as “victims” by the prosecution.

More from CNN:

Binger’s line of questioning twice led to criticisms from Judge Schroeder. The first incident related to Binger’s questions about Rittenhouse’s post-arrest silence, a right solidified in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.

“The problem is this is a grave constitutional violation for you to talk about the defendant’s silence,” Schroeder said. “You’re right on the borderline, and you may be over, but it better stop.”

The second admonishment related to questions about an incident two weeks before the shootings that Schroeder has said would not be permitted to come into evidence. Binger said he believed that incident was newly relevant to the case, but Schroeder criticized him for not asking permission first and affirmed the evidence would not be allowed.

“Don’t get brazen with me,” Schroeder said. “You know very well that an attorney can’t go into these types of areas when the judge has already ruled without asking outside the presence of the jury to do so, so don’t give me that.”

According to Reuters, the defense filed a motion for a mistrial after both of the heated moments between the judge and prosecution. The judge took the mistrial motion under advisement, meaning he will take time to review the motion and rule on it.

“When you say you were acting in good faith, I don’t believe you,” Judge Schroeder told the prosecution.

I think at this point we can all take our best guess at how this trial will end.