Rittenhouse asks for rifle used in Wisconsin killings back, says he will destroy it

Kyle Rittenhouse asked a court to return the rifle he used to fatally shoot two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., in 2020 — so he can destroy the firearm, according to his attorney.

Rittenhouse, who was found not guilty on all charges he faced in relation to the shootings in November, killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, then 26, with an assault-style rifle during protests against police brutality. He has maintained that he shot the men in self defense.

In a court document filed Wednesday in the Kenosha County Circuit Court, Rittenhouse’s attorney requested that the rifle be returned “to ensure that the firearm in question is properly destroyed,” CNN reported. He also requested the return of a 30-round capacity magazine, bullets and other items.

Following a police shooting that left a Black man, Jacob Blake, paralyzed, demonstrations erupted in Kenosha in 2020. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, traveled from Illinois and brought a rifle to the protests that had been purchased by his friend Dominick Black, then 18.

Black agreed to a plea deal earlier this month that would result in the dismissal of felony charges for delivering a dangerous weapon to a minor, resulting in death.

According to CNN, Rittenhouse’s attorney said his client was the rightful owner of the rifle via a “verbal contract enacted with Dominick Black.”

The judge in Rittenhouse’s trial had previously dropped a charge against him for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a minor.

Following his acquittal, Rittenhouse said in an interview that he was planning to destroy the rifle.