Who is the teenager accused of shooting three people during protests in the United States?

Kyle Rittenhouse is charged with the murders of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lakes. , during protests in Kenosha against racism and police brutality Tuesday evening.

The 17-year-old is also charged with the attempted murder of Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, of West Allis, northwest of Kenosha, who is recovering from surgery.

Rittenhouse faces five criminal charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor.

The White teenager was arrested the day after the shooting at his mother's home in Antioch, Illinois, and now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, as anyone 17 or older is treated as an adult in Wisconsin.

He was armed at the protest with a semi-automatic rifle as he roamed the streets with other armed civilians during protests in a state where people 18 and older can legally carry a firearm without a license.

Trump, the police and guns.

The teen's social media profiles show he has been fascinated by policing for years, with posts honoring officers killed in the line of duty and supporting the “Blue Lives Matter” campaign, which is often in opposition. to the Black Lives Matter campaign.

The Grayslake, Illinois, Police Department said he was a former member of a local police cadet program and is pictured in full police uniform.

Weapons also appear. on its pages, with photos of him posing with weapons, assembling an assault rifle and practicing target shooting.

He also appears to be a Donald Trump supporter, with video showing him in the front row at a rally for the president's re-election campaign, while his Instagram profile read “Trump 2020.”

How did he get involved in the Kenosha protests?

Several threads on Facebook and Reddit urged militias and other armed people to go to the protests, researchers at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab said Wednesday.

A video producer for the conservative website The Daily Caller said he interviewed Rittenhouse before the shooting.

The reporter posted a clip in which the armed young man, standing outside a closed car dealership in Kenosha, said: “Our job is to protect this business.< /p>

“And part of my job is also to help people.

“If someone gets hurt, I put myself in danger. That's why I have my rifle – because I can protect myself, obviously. But I also have my medical kit.”

What happened during the protests?

Questions were raised after video footage was released, and witnesses said Rittenhouse walked past officers and left the scene with a gun on his shoulder and his hands in the air as members of the public shouted that he had shot people and were calling for his arrest.

The county sheriff said the scene was very chaotic, while video from before the shooting showed police throwing bottled water from an armored vehicle at armed civilians and thanking them – one d They appear to be Rittenhouse.

Prosecutors said Rittenhouse was the gunman in another. video that is seen chasing people as he shouted that he had just shot someone.

In the video, the man trips and shoots a man from the ground, who falls and does not get up, then shoots another man. .

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes described Rittenhouse as a vigilante who is accountable to no one and said the fact that he and others came to Kenosha to take matters into their own hands “was completely horrible.”

Rittenhouse's attorney, Lin Wood, said he was acting in self-defense.

“From my perspective, it is important that the message is clear to other Americans who are attacked: legal resources will be available in the country. in case false accusations are made against them.

“Americans should never be deterred from exercising their right to self-defense.”