Kyle Rittenhouse: Victim’s father’s wrongful death lawsuit can go ahead

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A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled Wednesday that a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the father of a man shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, can proceed.

Rittenhouse shot and killed three men, Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, during racial justice protests in August 2020. In 2021, a jury found him not guilty, but Huber’s father, John Huber, filed a civil lawsuit over his son’s death.

Attorneys for Rittenhouse had tried to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Huber’s attorneys failed to properly provide him with a copy of the complaint and failed to show that he conspired with law enforcement and other individuals to commit violence against protesters based on race .

“We disagree that Mr. Huber has brought any reasonable charges against Kyle,” Rittenhouse’s attorney, Shane P. Martin, told The Washington Post on Thursday. “While this ruling allows the case to proceed for now, it does not change the facts. … There was no conspiracy at all between Kyle and the Kenosha police to single out Anthony Huber, as one jury has already found, and Kyle There was nothing wrong with what he did that night, it was self-defense.

Video from Aug. 25 shows Kyle Rittenhouse, charged with first-degree homicide, interacting with law enforcement before and after the shooting. (Video: Elyse Samuels, Allie Caren/The Washington Post)

In August 2020, Rittenhouse showed up on the streets of Kenosha with an AR-style rifle, saying he wanted to help protect businesses amid the unrest after Jacob Blake was shot dead by police. But in a brief exchange, Rittenhouse shot and killed Rosenbaum, 36, and Huber, 26. He also shot and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, then 26 years old. Rittenhouse insisted he acted in self-defense and could face a life sentence if convicted.

Kyle Rittenhouse acquitted in polarizing Kenosha homicide trial

“[Yesterday’s] The ruling brings Anthony’s family closer to justice for the needless death of their son,” Anand Swaminathan, a lawyer representing Huber’s father, said in an email to The Post. The events of the fateful tragic night are fully transparent. “

Huber’s lawsuit names Rittenhouse, Kenosha County Sheriff David G. Beth, former Kenosha Police Chief Daniel G. Miskinis, acting Kenosha Police Chief Eric Larsen, the city of Kenosha and Kenosha County.

Law enforcement attorneys and administration officials charged did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

Attorneys for Rittenhouse argued that he was not served properly because he does not live at the Florida residence where his sister and his mother live, and that the sister is responsible for opening the door and receiving court documents.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman wrote in Wednesday’s ruling that Huber’s attorneys made extensive efforts to locate Rittenhouse’s permanent residence in order to serve him court documents, and that Rittenhouse Tenhouse “deliberately concealed his whereabouts”.

Huber “hired three professional investigators who spent more than 100 hours searching for Rittenhouse across the country,” Adelman wrote. “In contrast, Rittenhouse is almost certainly avoiding service.”

He also rejected the defense’s argument that Huber’s attorneys did not properly accuse Rittenhouse of conspiring with law enforcement on the night of the protest.

Celebrations and skirmishes took place outside the Kenosha County Courthouse in Wisconsin on Nov. 11. Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on the 19th. (Video: James Cornsilk, Laura Dyan Kezman/The Washington Post, Photos: Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)

While some may find the conspiracy allegations “implausible,” Adelman wrote, this is not the time for the court to “weigh the evidence” or “determine whether the plaintiffs have the ability to prove their allegations.”

“So long as the facts alleged by the plaintiff are not whimsical or delusional, the court must accept them as true,” Adelman wrote. “Determining whether the allegations are true or false will come later in the case, after all parties have had an opportunity to present evidence.”

Mark Guarino, Kim Bellware and Mark Berman contributed to this report.

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