Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Kyle Rittenhouse, US News, Black Lives Matter
Poppy Bilderbeck
Kyle Rittenhouse's gun which he used to fatally shoot two people and injure a third at a Black Lives Matter protest has been destroyed.
On August 25, 2020, then 17-year-old Rittenhouse travelled 20 miles to protests in Kenosha with an AR-15-style automatic rifle. The protests broke out after a white police officer shot Black man Jacob Blake, paralyzing him from the waist down.
On November 19, 2021, a panel of jurors found Rittenhouse not guilty of charges relating to the wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, and the fatal shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.
Rittenhouse was cleared of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety in the first degree.
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The now-19-year-old returned to court on January 28 in an attempt to have his gun retrieved, with his lawyers stating that the teenager wanted to destroy it to prevent it from becoming a political symbol of any kind.
Wisconsin officials have since gotten rid of the weapon.
It has now been revealed the gun was destroyed by the state's crime lab on February 25.
It was agreed that the gun's destruction should be recorded, and so a video was posted by the station which shows a gun being unboxed and later fed into a shredder by technicians.
The move comes after it was agreed in court by Rittenhouse's lawyers and prosecutors that the rifle would be disposed of.
A spokesperson for Rittenhouse, David Hancock, stated: 'At the end of the day, two people did lose their lives. That weapon was involved in that. The weapon doesn't belong on a mantle. It doesn't belong in a museum. It belongs where Kyle wants it, and Kyle wants it destroyed.'
The teenager claimed that he made the trip to Kenosha to provide medical aid and defend local businesses from protestors.
He pleaded not guilty and claimed that he had acted against the three men in self defence.
Rittenhouse was later acquitted of the five felonies he faced on November 19, 2021.
However, the ruling sparked intense backlash. Protests erupted around the country, protests took place in Portland and students called for Rittenhouse to be kicked out of their university.
Alongside going to court in a bid to have his gun returned to him and destroyed, Rittenhouse also requested that other of his personal belongings from the day of the shooting be retrieved.
The 19-year-old asked for his ammunition, a magazine for his rifle, a phone, a face mask, a $1 bill and the clothes he was wearing on the day to be returned to him.
Rittenhouse's gun was reportedly bought for him by his friend Dominick Black because he was too young to purchase it himself.
In January, Black pleaded no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org