Lead prosecutor Thomas Binger claimed that Kyle Rittenhouse “chased down” Joseph Rosenbaum in his opening statement on Tuesday. Binger described Rosenbaum, a convicted pedophile, as being “unarmed” when Rittenhouse shot and killed him. “This occurred after [Rittenhouse] chased down Mr. Rosenbaum and confronted him while wielding that AR-15,” Binger said.
Binger later told the jury that they would be shown video from an infrared FBI plane that would prove Rosenbaum was chased by Rittenhouse. He added that we don’t know exactly what was going on at that very moment. We don’t know what words were said,” in regards to the confrontation. Binger also admitted that Rosenbaum had antagonized several armed men on the night of the riot, even urging some to shoot him.
Video shows Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse moments before the shooting. He chased Rittenhouse from a nearby gas station and at one point threw a plastic bag at the teenager. As Rittenhouse was being chased by Rosenbaum, another rioter discharged a handgun.
This was confirmed by Binger and had previously been reported by the New York Times. The shot was fired by rioter Joshua Ziminski, who has been charged with arson. Ziminski and Rosenbaum could be seen starting fires near the gas station during the riot.
The defense showed video of the interaction that revealed the opposite. Similar video is available on social media:
Video shows Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse, who was attempting to flee pic.twitter.com/BKUx3U2Vu0
— Cullen McCue (@CullenMcCue) November 2, 2021
Prior to his death, Rosenbaum was a convicted pedophile who sodomized and molested multiple boys as young as 9 years old. Court documents reveal he served just over 12 years in an Arizona prison, and the crime was first discovered when the mother of one victim noticed burn marks on her son.
Rosenbaum was heard screaming “Shoot me, n**ga” at Rittenhouse prior to the fatal shot.
Binger also told the jury that Anthony Huber, who chased Rittenhouse before hitting him with skateboard before attempting to grab his gun, was personal friends with Jacob Blake. The shooting was the catalyst for multiple nights of rioting in Kenosha after Blake was shot while attempting to kidnap a child. Binger said Huber “lived for skateboarding” and that he “came out that night because he wanted to show support for his friend.”