Wisconsin Judge Holds Kyle Rittenhouse On $2 Million Bond

Kenosha, WI – A Wisconsin judge ordered the teen charged with killing two people during the Kenosha riots held on a $2 million bond on Monday.

An Illinois judge approved extradition to Wisconsin for 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse on Friday, WTMJ reported. Attorneys for Rittenhouse have sought to delay or prevent the extradition process several times.

But on Oct. 30, Judge Paul Novak issued the ruling in Waukegan, Illinois for Lake County sheriff’s deputies to hand Rittenhouse over to Kenosha County sheriff’s deputies at the state line, the Associated Press reported.

Rittenhouse’s lawyers had argued that the charges against their client were politically motivated, but the judge was nonplussed.

“This Illinois court shall not examine any potential political impact a Wisconsin District Attorney potentially considered in his charging decision,” Novak said in a six-page ruling.

He said it wasn’t his job as a judge in Illinois to “reevaluate probable cause determined by a Wisconsin court,” according to the Associated Press.

Rittenhouse was turned over to Wisconsin law enforcement, five miles away, at about 3:45 p.m. on Friday.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth confirmed that Rittenhouse arrived at his jail at about 4:30 p.m., WKOW reported.

He appeared before a Wisconsin judge for a virtual arraignment on Nov. 2 and was held on a $2 million bond.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 3, WKOW reported.

Wisconsin authorities have charged Rittenhouse with five felony charges including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor, WEAR reported.

The teen was arrested at his home in Antioch on Aug. 26 and has been awaiting extradition to Wisconsin.

A Waukegan judge granted Rittenhouse a month-long reprieve before his extradition hearing to assemble a legal team to defend him.

But when the top-notch defense team appeared with the 17 year old at a virtual hearing on Oct. 9, they argued it would be dangerous to extradite Rittenhouse to Wisconsin, citing concerns about retaliation and the highly-charged political climate, ABC News reported.

Attorneys for Rittenhouse have said that their client was protected under Wisconsin law and the Second Amendment when he defended himself during the riots.

“There is a massive amount of video evidence that shows… beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is not a legitimate criminal prosecution, it is a political prosecution,” attorney John Pierce told the judge.

Pierce said he needed more time to challenge the extradition, ABC News reported.

“There is a presidential candidate in the heat of arguably the most heated election, perhaps ever, certainly since 1860, that has inflamed the situation, and we simply ask that that this detainee’s due process rights be observed so we can challenge this in a proper way and ensure that this is a legitimate criminal prosecution and not something else,” the attorney for Rittenhouse told the judge on Oct. 9.

Pierce didn’t mention a specific candidate during the hearing, attorneys for the Rittenhouse announced plans to sue former Vice President Joe Biden and his campaign for labeling him a white supremacist in a video ad launched the morning after the first Presidential debate.

The mainstream media and liberal groups have villainized the 17-year-old Rittenhouse as somebody who took his gun to Kenosha during the riots with the intent to kill someone.

However, both The New York Times analysis of the Kenosha riot videos and the criminal complaint charging Rittenhouse with the shootings suggest the 17 year old may have been acting in self-defense when he pulled the trigger.