Teen charged in killings poses with ‘Silver Spoons’ actor

November 21, 2020 GMT
This undated booking photo from the Antioch (Illinois) Police Department shows Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with fatally shooting two men and injuring a third during protest in Kenosha, Wis., in late August. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Wendy Rittenhouse said neither her son nor the protesters should have been on the street that night and put much of the blame for what happened on police and the governor. “The police should have helped the businesses out instead of having a 17-year-old kid helping him," she said. “The police should have been involved with these people that lost their businesses. They should have stepped up." (Antioch Police Department/Chicago Tribune via AP)
This undated booking photo from the Antioch (Illinois) Police Department shows Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with fatally shooting two men and injuring a third during protest in Kenosha, Wis., in late August. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Wendy Rittenhouse said neither her son nor the protesters should have been on the street that night and put much of the blame for what happened on police and the governor. “The police should have helped the businesses out instead of having a 17-year-old kid helping him," she said. “The police should have been involved with these people that lost their businesses. They should have stepped up." (Antioch Police Department/Chicago Tribune via AP)

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — An Illinois 17-year-old accused of killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin was seen smiling in a photo with his lawyer and “Silver Spoons” actor Ricky Schroder after being released from custody by posting a $2 million bond.

Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during a demonstration Aug. 25 that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He posted bond through his attorney at about 2 p.m. Friday.

Hours after being released, L. Lin Wood of Atlanta, who is a member of Rittenhouse’s defense team, tweeted a photo of Rittenhouse, Ricky Schroder and attorney John Pierce, under a title of “FREE AT LAST!!!” Lin earlier tweeted that a donation from Schroder helped put Rittenhouse’s bond fundraising effort “over the top.”

Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, told police he was attacked while he was guarding a business and that he fired in self-defense.

He faces multiple charges, including intentional homicide, reckless endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm. Wisconsin law doesn’t permit minors to carry or possess a gun unless they’re hunting. He is due back in court on Dec. 3 for a preliminary hearing.

His case has taken on political overtones. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have painted Rittenhouse as a trigger-happy white supremacist. Conservatives upset over property destruction during recent protests have portrayed him as a patriot who was exercising his right to bear arms during unrest. A legal defense fund for Rittenhouse has raised millions of dollars in donations, and his mother got a standing ovation from women at a Waukesha County GOP function in September.