Jury Seated in Rittenhouse Trial; Opening Arguments Set For Tuesday

KENOSHA, WI (WLIP)–Opening arguments are set for Tuesday after a lengthy first day in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.

Jury selection got underway as Judge Bruce Schroeder, prosecutors led by Assistant D.A. Thomas Binger and the defense led by attorney Mark Richards whittled their way through dozens of potential jurors throughout the day.

The judge began with a very basic question-asking if any of the jurors hadn’t heard about the case.

Not one raised their hand.

Among the topics covered by prosecutors was any potential participation in the protests and violence in reaction to the police shooting of Jacob Blake-which again no one had.

Prosecutors also wanted to know If anyone in the jury pool had donated to Rittenhouse’s defense…and yet again no hands were raised.

The defense focused on emotions running high during the riots but the judge made sure they walked a fine line with riot related questions-clarifying that the trial was not about the riots.

The jury selection was complete shortly after 7 PM-almost ten hours after the process got underway.

Potential jurors themselves expressed concerns over their safety during the trial as well as other potential issues.

Among those opinions was one potential juror who said she couldn’t judge the case fairly because she was afraid to go home to her husband if he disagreed with the outcome.

Another stated she didn’t believe people should own the AR-style gun Rittenhouse used during the shootings.

Still others expressed concerns about their safety during the proceedings. That was one issue on which the judge pushed back.

He said that safety precautions for jurors are in place.