Rittenhouse says first man he shot threatened to kill him
SCOTT BAUER, TAMMY WEBBER and KATHLEEN FOODY
Tue, November 9, 2021, 11:58 PM·4 min read
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse broke down in tears on the witness stand at his murder trial Wednesday as he described how he was being pursued by the first man he shot and killed during a night of turbulent protests in Kenosha.
Rittenhouse, now 18, said he was walking toward a Car Source lot with a fire extinguisher to put out a fire when “I hear somebody scream, ‘Burn in hell!’ And I respond with ‘Friendly, friendly, friendly!'”
He said Joseph Rosenbaum was running at him from one side and another protester with a gun in front of him, “and I was cornered." He said that's when he began to run.
Rittenhouse began to sob, and the judge called for a break in testimony to allow him to regain his composure.
On a courtroom bench across the room, Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse sobbed loudly as she watched her son apparently unable to speak further. Someone sitting next to her put an arm around her.
During his testimony, he said Rosenbaum was holding a chain at one point and twice threatened to kill him that night.
Apologizing to the court for his language, Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum was walking down the street with his chain and screamed, “If I catch any of you (expletives) alone I’m going to (expletive) kill you!"
And later that night, he testified, Rosenbaum said: “I’m going to cut your (expletive) hearts out! Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum also called them “N-words." But he said he didn't want to repeat the word in court.
Full story here