Mark Richards, the attorney of vigilante and darling of the far-right Kyle Rittenhouse argued Tuesday that his client acted in self-defense when he chased down an unarmed Joseph Rosenbaum and shot him four times, once in the back. 

Richards claimed that it was Rosenbaum’s skateboard that was the real threat since it’s possible to “separate the head from the body” with a skateboard, he alleges. 

In his opening statements, Richards said: “He [Rittenhouse] acted in self-defense, ladies and gentlemen,” he told the jury. “The evidence will show his actions … were reasonable under the circumstances as they existed that night, being attacked by Mr. Rosenbaum.”

But Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger portrayed Rittenhouse as an enemy of the city, someone who came in to ignite an ember into a raging inferno. 

“Like moths to a flame, tourists from outside our community were drawn to the chaos here in Kenosha,” said Binger. “People from outside Kenosha came in and contributed to that chaos.

“The evidence will show that hundreds of people were out on the streets experiencing chaos and violence and the only person who killed anyone was the defendant Kyle Rittenhouse,” Binger said, adding: “When we consider the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions, I ask you to keep that in mind. We’re not asking you to solve a mystery in this case.”

The reality is, Rittenhouse is a teenage wanna-be cop who drove himself from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with an AR-15-style .223 rifle in his car, wearing a backward baseball cap and harboring an intention to act as citizen police. He took it upon himself to protect a couple of local businesses on the night of a peaceful protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. 

Videos from the night of the shooting show that several protesters attempted to disarm Rittenhouse, who fatally shot Rosenbaum, 36, then Anthony Huber, 26, and seconds later Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, who was wounded. 

CNN reports that several social media accounts believed to belong to Rittenhouse paint a picture of a white man with a love of weapons, President Donald Trump, and “Blue Lives Matter” rhetoric.

The Proud Boys have rallied behind him. Trump himself has refused to decry his actions and photos of Rittenhouse posing with Proud Boys and throwing white supremacist hand signs have flooded the internet. 

Last month, attorneys for Rittenhouse attempted to argue that he was legally allowed to carry his AR-15 weapon because he had a certificate to hunt. 

Of course, the next obvious question is if that’s the case … what exactly was Rittenhouse hunting?

Under Wisconsin law, there are certain training and supervision requirements for anyone 16 years or younger in order to possess a gun for hunting. The law does not outline limits for people over 16.

Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder denied the motion to drop Rittenhouse’s weapons possession charge.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with five felonies: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon under the age of 18 and a noncriminal violation of failure to comply with an emergency order. He has pleaded not guilty.