Prosecutors have charged 60-plus people in Kenosha protests

Listen to this article

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors have now charged more than 60 people in connection with offenses committed during protests against police brutality and racism in Kenosha last year.

The Kenosha News reported Tuesday that Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley’s office has filed more than 90 separate charges, including 70 felonies and 18 misdemeanors. Six cases involved juveniles. The felony counts include burglary, making threats against police or National Guard troops and destroying an ATM.

Protests engulfed Kenosha for several nights in August 2020 after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake during a domestic disturbance. Blake, who is Black, survived but the shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois shot three protesters on the second night of the demonstrations, killing two of them. He argued he fired in self-defense after the first protester tried to grab his rifle, the second hit him with a skateboard and the third pointed a gun at him. A jury acquitted him of multiple charges in November.