Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial appears on the verge of wrapping up, but on Thursday—Veterans Day—as criticism over the propriety and impartiality of presiding Judge Bruce Schroeder reached a fever pitch, Schroeder kicked off proceedings by instructing jurors to clap for the only veteran in the room: an expert called by Rittenhouse’s defense.

The exchange unfolded when the 18-year-old’s defense attorney called Dr. John Black to testify as a use of force expert.

Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three men—Gaige Grosskreutz, Joseph Rosenbaum, and Anthony Huber—with a Smith & Wesson AR-15 style .223 rifle as protests unfolded last August in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Only Grosskreutz survived the contact with Rittenhouse. Huber and Rosenbaum died.

Thursday, Nov 11, 2021 · 7:15:12 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Say what?

Thursday, Nov 11, 2021 · 8:30:49 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Binger, after a recess for lunch, was able to pick up on a thread from earlier in the day when Judge Schroeder contemplated whether to overrule the defense team’s objections to Binger’s questions about Drew Hernandez’s possible bias. 

With the defense overruled, Binger pressed Hernandez about his support for Rittenhouse on social media. 

Notably, Hernandez has a documented history of recording protests and using the videos to smear civil rights activists, including members of the Black Lives Matter movement. In a video posted on Twitter on Feb. 1, a man who appears to be Hernandez is heard delivering remarks at a pro-Trump rally in Washington, D.C. last December. The rally was attended by Alexander Ali, a right wing conspiracy theorist who also helped organize rallies contesting the results of the 2020 election. 

“We will not go down without bloodshed,” Hernandez is heard saying in the clip.

Thursday, Nov 11, 2021 · 8:52:06 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Part of the reason why use of force expert Dr. Black, a former sheriff’s deputy, was called to testify by the defense was so Rittenhouse’s attorneys could make the case that video from the night did not fully reflect what Rittenhouse observed. 

Grosskreutz, who testified at trial earlier this week, told ABC’s Good Morning America that what he observed when Rittenhouse took the stand Wednesday. 

“It seemed like a child who just got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. He seemed more upset that he got caught and less upset about what he had done and the numerous lives he affected that night,” Grosskreutz said.

Grosskreutz also insisted that he was not pointing  the gun he carried that night at Rittenhouse. 

The protests were a response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, who after taking seven bullets to the back from white Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, is now paralyzed.

Rittenhouse has maintained he shot Huber, Rosenbaum, and Grosskreutz in self-defense. Prosecutors say the Antioch, Illinois, native was effectively acting as a vigilante.

Rittenhouse stalked the streets of Kenosha last August with other armed men, video evidence has shown. Though curfew had come and gone on that fateful night, prosecutors say Rittenhouse was still out and got into a clash with people gathered at a nearby car dealership.

Rosenbaum was unarmed but moved toward the teenager, throwing an object at him—a plastic bag—before Rittenhouse opened fire. In court Wednesday, as Rittenhouse testified on his own behalf between animated sobs, he said he thought the item thrown by Rosenbaum was a chain.

As Rosenbaum lay dying, a journalist told prosecutors in a court filing last year that Rittenhouse made a call on his cellphone and was heard saying “I just killed somebody” before running from the scene.

After the shooting and before Rittenhouse could get far, a group began to chase him. Rittenhouse tripped and fell and at that time, prosecutors say, Anthony Huber had approached Rittenhouse in an attempt to take the AR-15 style rifle away from the teenager. Huber did so with one hand while holding his skateboard in the other. Video appears to show the skateboard hitting Rittenhouse in the shoulder during the exchange. Rittenhouse then shot Huber.

Rittenhouse put Grosskreutz, who was holding a handgun, in his sights just moments later and shot him in the arm. Grosskreutz fled, screaming out for a medic as Rittenhouse walked away.

During Thursday’s proceedings, Black testified it took roughly two and three quarters of a second from the time a man at the protests, Joshua Ziminski, fired a gun into the air and Rittenhouse discharged his weapon.

Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi also called eyewitness Drew Hernandez to testify Thursday. Hernandez is a self-described “professional commentator” who now works for the right-wing outlet Real America’s Voice. He captured footage on the night of the shootings and has regularly characterized protesters as “violent rioters” online; he did so again in court Thursday.

At one point, lead prosecutor Thomas Binger asked if Real America’s Voice was biased. The defense objected, prompting Schroeder to consider nixing the question altogether. Binger proceeded to ask if the video captured by Hernandez could be biased against protesters since he perceived them as “violent rioters.”

This story is developing.