On Friday, a jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of all charges brought against him.
The 18-year-old was cleared on five felony counts: first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Anthony Huber, first-degree reckless homicide for the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, two counts of reckless endangerment for firing a gun near others, and one count of first degree attempted intentional homicide for the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz.
After days of deliberation, the jury announced their verdict this morning, and as Rittenhouse wept and his knees buckled under him, Judge Bruce Schroeder thanked the jury.
“You were a wonderful jury to work with. You were punctual, you were attentive. The forgotten six over here, who had a very difficult job of keeping from discussing the case during the time that they were sequestered, as well. All of you — I couldn’t have asked for a better jury to work with. And it has truly been my pleasure,” the judge said in the Livestream of the verdict that was shared on Twitter.
“Without commenting on your verdict, the verdicts themselves, just in terms of your attentiveness and the cooperation that you gave to us, justifies the confidence that the founders of our country placed in you,” Schroeder added.
BREAKING: Kyle Rittenhouse found NOT GUILTY on all charges pic.twitter.com/8IeEFnGL2C
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 19, 2021
This came after weeks of high tensions over the trial and days of speculation as the jury deliberated.
The trial has garnered national attention and controversy. The media has been following closely as things dragged on.
However, some media outlets reportedly got too intrusive during the jury’s deliberations.
On Thursday, MSNBC was banned from the remainder of the trial after a man who said he was a producer with NBC was found following the bus carrying jurors.
“Police are investigating after a person claiming to be affiliated with a national media outlet was suspected of trying to photograph jurors in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial Wednesday night,” WMAQ-TV reported.
Following this incident, Judge Schroeder addressed the incident in court Thursday as he banned the media outlet from the trial.
“This is a very serious matter and I don’t know what the ultimate truth of it is, but absolutely, it would go without much thinking that someone who is following a jury bus — that is a very extremely serious matter and will be referred to the proper authorities for further action,” WMAQ reported Schroeder saying in court on Thursday.
Schroeder has been vocal in his displeasure regarding the media coverage of the trial. It has even made him question the idea of televising any of his future trials.
“I’m going to think long and hard about live television in the trial again next time,” Schroeder said, The Washington Post reported. “I’ve always been a firm believer in it because I think the people should be able to see what’s going on. But to see what’s being done is really quite frightening.”
He took issue with how the media was covering the trial, the terminology being used and what he called misinformation being spread about the case.
“It’s just a shame irresponsible statements are being made,” the judge said, according to The Hill.
Many on Twitter are already criticizing the judge, and now with a verdict out and his thanks to the jury, the fire from the media might increase.