KENOSHA, Wisc. — I'll start this off by saying I'm no legal expert. I am simply someone who has been at the county courthouse for each day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. While normal court proceedings clearly have the prosecution on one side and the defense on another, if you weren't paying attention to who was speaking, you'd be forgiven for thinking Rittenhouse has two defense teams working for him.
This is due to the prosecution, headed by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, bringing up witnesses who have only served to strengthen Rittenhouse's claim to self-defense or asking questions of their own witnesses that make it look like they have no idea whose side they are on. The first example of this was when Binger brought Koerri Washington, also known as Koerri Elijah to the stand. Washington, a local to Kenosha and works as a "social media influencer," blew the first hole in Binger's claim that it was actually Rittenhouse who chased down Joseph Rosenbaum. Washington's video, however, clearly showed Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse and attempting to attack him. On cross-examination, Washington conceded that while Rittenhouse was initially behind Rosenbaum at a distance, Rittenhouse was walking, not running.
The supposed "ace up the sleeve" Binger promised also proved to be a dud. Infrared video from an FBI drone proved Rittenhouse did not start the chase as it was once again shown Rosenbaum began the encounter.
This happened to at least two other prosecution witnesses who testified it was Rosenbaum who was being aggressive to anyone who happened to cross his path, with Ryan Balch saying Rosenbaum told him and Rittenhouse, "If I catch any of you guys alone tonight I’m going to f*cking kill you!"
The pivotal moment for when things really went south for the prosecution was when they called Richie McGinniss, the chief video editor for the Daily Caller, to the stand on the third day of the trial. McGinniss was the man behind Joesph Rosenbaum when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum four times. When pressed by Binger who said McGinniss did not know Rosenbaum's intentions, McGinniss replied, "Well, he yelled F you and reached for the weapon."
When the prosecution has not been busy being discredited by their own witnesses, the defense took little time to poke holes in their presentations. This was exemplified when a DNA analyst spent a long time on behalf of the prosecution to explain what her qualifications are, what DNA is, and how samples that were taken from Rittenhouse's AR-15 didn't have enough evidence to show Rosenbaum or Anthony Huber (skateboard man) had touched the gun. The analyst admitted they could've touched the gun without leaving enough DNA when the defense showed pictures of Huber clearly grabbing the rifle.
Rittenhouse's defense team was able to get prosecution witness Jason Lackowski, who served as a rifleman in the Marine Corps and was in Kenosha to protect private property, to say the handgun Gaige Grosskreutz had in his hand and was about to use on Rittenhouse before getting shot by him, was locked and loaded with a round in the chamber, highlighting Rittenhouse was nearly shot by Grosskreutz.
Ultimately, I think it boils down to the state hardly having any case from the start for the murder charges. The videos alone taken from that night clearly show Rittenhouse only shooting the individuals who attacked him in fights he did not start, even not shooting at least one person who punched him in the back of the head because he was trying to get away from the hostile crowd. In all probability, the jury will find Rittenhouse guilty of possessing a firearm while underage and being in violation of the curfew order. But as they say during election years, it all comes down to turnout.
So is it all a waste of time? Yes and no. While the charges should have never been filed, painstakingly going over everything from that night should leave no observer in doubt Rittenhouse shot in self-defense. Anyone who insists he is some white supremacist murderer who was trying to kill as many people as possible only serves to signal to the world their ignorance. At the same time, the trial has gotten Rittenhouse's detractors' hopes up for him going to jail, which could lead to intense fury if the jury finds him innocent.