Kyle Rittenhouse is asking the court to return the gun he used to kill two men in Kenosha, Wisconsin so he can destroy it, his attorney said.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges he faced in relation to the August 2020 shooting in which he killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, with an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle during protests against police brutality following the officer involved shooting of unarmed black man Jacob Blake.
Now, Rittenhouse wants that gun back so he can destroy it, his lawyer Mark Richards said in court documents filed Wednesday, according to CNN.
“Mr. Rittenhouse further wishes to ensure that the firearm in question is properly destroyed,” Richards said. He also requested the return of a 30-round capacity magazine, bullets, and several other items that were taken from Rittenhouse by police when he was arrested.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time was too young to buy a gun so he asked his friend Dominick Black, then 18, to purchase it for him and agreed to repay him.
Rittenhouse’s attorney argued that he is the lawful owner of the firearm “per the verbal contract enacted with Dominick Black.”
Black was initially charged with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under the age of 18 causing death. He took a plea deal last week, pleading no contest to a county ordinance citation of contributing to the delinquency of a child and paid a $2,000 fine.
The verdict of the Rittenhouse trial has been widely celebrated by conservatives as a win for gun rights and self defense laws nationwide. Since the trial, Rittenhouse has become a celebrity, making several appearances on conservative media and given speaking roles at popular conservative events.
