What were the criminal records of Rittenhouse’s victims?
Getty/Facebook What were the criminal records of Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz? What were the criminal records of Rittenhouse’s victims? Below, we outline the criminal histories for each of the men Rittenhouse shot: Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz. Rosenbaum and Huber died; Grosskreutz was shot in the bicup. Some may dispute the term “victims” being used for the men, of course, because Kyle Rittenhouse,18, was found not guilty of all charges against him in a Kenosha County courthouse. The jury agreed that he acted in self-defense. That finding has put more scrutiny on the backgrounds of the men he shot. Others may dispute that the criminal histories are relevant. But they did come up in different ways in court, just not to the jury. The judge, Bruce Schroeder, denied a defense request to tell jurors the criminal history of Rosenbaum, so they never did. Defense attorneys indicated they would try to present Huber’s criminal history to the jury if prosecutors persisted in presenting a character witness for him. It never happened, so they didn’t go down that path, either. Grosskreutz, the only man shot by Rittenhouse to survive, was asked by prosecutors on the witness stand how many criminal convictions he had. He said one. Jurors didn’t learn more about it, though. That was the extent the men’s criminal records came up in court. Rittenhouse had gone to Kenosha, testimony indicated, to work as a lifeguard and visit a friend. His father lived in that city. He then took a gun and went to protect businesses, work as a medic (although he wasn’t certified as one) and clean up graffiti. As night fell, he ended up protecting a Car Source outlet, a branch of a business that had lost its other outlet to arsonists. Rosenbaum, who was described by even state witnesses as agitated and belligerent and using a racial slur throughout the night, chased Rittenhouse into the corner of a car lot. A witness, Richie McGinniss, testified that Rosenbaum was lunging to get Rittenhouse’s gun at close range when Rittenhouse shot him. Rittenhouse then ran down the street and fell. Huber struck him with a skateboard while rushing toward him and got a hand on his gun; he was shot and killed. Grosskreutz testified he thought Rittenhouse was an “active shooter” so he advanced toward him, and pointed a gun at him, from close range. He was shot and wounded. Prosecutors tried to claim that Rittenhouse provoked the Rosenbaum shooting by pointing his gun at another man, Joshua Ziminski, first. However, the defense denied this, and the jury rejected it. The above details are captured in several videos. Read a full profile on Grosskreutz, who has worked as a paramedic and was doing so that night, here and on Rosenbaum here. Huber’s family has blasted the court decision. His great aunt testified in court, describing him as always carrying his skateboard because he loved the activity. You can read a full profile of Huber here. The full profiles expand the coverage beyond the men’s criminal records to tell more about their lives. Getty Kenosha shooting Even after the verdicts, there are those who see the man as heroes, trying to stop an active shooter, especially in the cases of Grosskreutz and Huber, who did not see the exact circumstances of the Rosenbaum shooting but heard the crowd yelling that Rittenhouse had shot someone. Getty A demonstrator holds a sign with images of the men Kyle Rittenhouse shot. He was outside the Kenosha courthouse. Susan Hughes, Huber’s great aunt, told the Today show, “I want Anthony to be remembered as a person who really was just trying to get on with his life after some early difficult years, and was making real, real progress in that regard.” “No verdict will be able to bring back the lives of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum or heal Gaige Grosskreutz’s injuries just as no verdict can heal the wounds or trauma experienced by Jacob Blake and his family,” Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a statement after the verdicts.
