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Prosecutors, Defense Lawyers Offer Conflicting Portrayal of Kenosha Shooter

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - On Monday, President Donald Trump came to the defense of
   Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-oldchargedwith killing two protesters and
   wounding a third during demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last
   week.

   Rittenhouse, a Trump supporter and police enthusiast, drove from nearby
   Illinois with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle to help patrol the streets
   of Kenosha during protests and civil unrest after Jacob Blake, a
   29-year-old Black man, was shot in the back seven times by a police
   officer, leaving him partially paralyzed.

   The teenagerhas been charged with first-degree reckless homicide,
   first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree
   intentional homicide.

   But Rittenhouse's lawyers are claiming it was self-defense, and Trump
   defended Rittenhouse during a White House briefing Monday, the day
   before the president traveled to Kenosha to meet with law enforcement
   officials andowners of damaged businesses.

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