KENOSHA, Wis. — With just days until the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is set to be in the hands of the jury, Wendy Rittenhouse gave her first interview since her son testified to Fox News.
She didn't indicate what she thinks the outcome of the trial will be but said she feels the jury is paying good attention and told Sean Hannity that she thinks Judge Bruce Schroeder is very fair.
Gaige Grosskreutz, the armed medic who was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse and survived, has also landed in front of the camera. CNN's Anderson Cooper wanted to know why Grosskreutz testified that his gun was pointed at Rittenhouse, but has since insisted, it was not. During the live interview Grosskreutz said, "The only way that I could have sustained the injury that I have is if I had been shot with my arms up." Cooper pressed, "So, did you ever point your gun at him?" Grosskreutz responded, "I think that — again, in the still photos it certainly looks like it. But never intentionally. You have to understand that following that gunshot I had no use of my arm. I wasn't able to move anything in my right arm or on my right arm."
Kyle Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If he's convicted of the most serious charge against him, first-degree intentional homicide, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
During the Fox News interview, Wendy Rittenhouse also said her son is not a white supremacist nor a racist, and that she raised him to help others. Hannity asked if she and her son had discussed whether or not Kyle Rittenhouse would go into a situation like the one in Kenosha, if presented with the choice again. She said, "I know him and I know he would probably do it again, because that's the kind of person he is. He always wants to help people. Even since he was a little boy."
The judge and the attorneys met on Friday at the courthouse to hammer out final details, but everything else is essentially on pause until Monday — when closing arguments are set to begin.
Each side has agreed that they will get 2.5 hours for closing arguments. The judge is trying to limit the time because he knows there will be at least an hour of jury instructions as well. During jury instruction, the state is expected to ask for "lesser included" charges. It means jurors would have the option of finding Rittenhouse guilty of a lesser charge with a lower burden of proof and shorter sentence. It could help jurors avoid a hung jury in this case.