KENOSHA – Kenosha County prosecutors try to change Kyle Rittenhouse’s bond agreement after saying the 18-year-old flashed white signs while posing for photos, drank several beers, and was’ serenaded ‘with the Proud Boys’ official song at a Mount Pleasant bar.
Rittenhouse, accused of shooting and killing two people and injuring a third during protests and unrest in Kenosha last summer, was released from Kenosha County Jail on $ 2 million bail. That bond agreement, in his current state, doesn’t stop Rittenhouse from entering a bar or drinking alcohol – as those minors are allowed to do in the company of parents in Wisconsin – nor does it stop him from fraternizing. with known members of white supremacist groups. .
In a motion to change Rittenhouse’s band Wednesday, the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office gives details of Rittenhouse’s Jan.5 visit to Pudgy’s Pub with his mother. Rittenhouse stopped at the Mount Pleasant tavern shortly after pleading not to be guilty of assassination attempts in connection with the Kenosha shooting. Rittenhouse’s attorneys claim he fired his gun in self-defense.
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Prosecutors are now requesting that Rittenhouse’s tape be changed to include the following:
- The suspect is prohibited from possessing or consuming alcohol.
- The accused will not be present in any establishment serving alcohol.
- The accused is prohibited from disclosing any “white power” or “white supremacy” signs, symbols, or hand gestures.
- The suspect will have no contact with known militiamen or known members of violent white / white supremacist groups or organizations, including but not limited to the group identified as the “Proud Boys”.
Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office
According to documents from Kenosha prospectors, Rittenhouse, his mother and several other adults arrived at Pudgy’s Pub on Washington Avenue on Wednesday. Local law enforcement was soon made aware of Rittenhouse’s presence there, and later collected surveillance video and still images of his visit to the bar. [Those photos are included in this article].
Rittenhouse sat at the bar for about an hour and a half, prosecutors say. He was wearing a t-shirt that read “Free as F ***.”
After arriving at the bar outside, Rittenhouse posed for photos with two other men in his group. In these photos, Rittenhouse and the other men showed the “OK” sign, which prosecutors say was co-opted by white supremacists as a “white power” sign.
Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office
After posing for the photos, Rittenhouse entered the bar and was served a beer from the bartender, the motion said. He drank a total of three beers while he was at Pudgy’s.
Within minutes of entering the bar, Rittenhouse was also “sung out loud” by five adult men in his group with the song “Proud of Your Boy” – an obscure song written for the 1992 Disney movie “Aladdin”, according to the prosecutors.
The white supremacist group, the Proud Boys, is in fact named after this song, and the song is sung by members of the group, the motion says.
Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office
Rittenhouse posed for several more photos with the men in the bar. In each of these photos, Rittenhouse and the other men showed the “OK” sign used by white supremacists, prosecutors said.
“The suspect then stayed with these ‘Proud Boys’ the entire time he was in the bar”, the motion states.
Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office
Motion to change Rittenhouse’s band
Prosecutors thus argue in their motion that Rittenhouse may not first possess or consume alcohol. They state that Rittenhouse was 17 when he allegedly shot the three victims; that he is now 18 and a resident of Illinois; That consumption can increase the likelihood of violent criminal acts – coupled with the reality that Rittenhouse is being charged with the most serious crime in Wisconsin, first-degree willful murder, they say.
Prosecutors also allege that Rittenhouse should be restricted from interacting with known militiamen or known members of violent, white power or white supremacist groups. They claim that the group has advocated violence, been involved in extremist rallies and movements, and that its members have been arrested for committing crimes.
Prosecutors write: “The defendant’s continued association with members of a group that prides itself on violence, and the use of their symbols, increases the significant likelihood of future harm. Furthermore, this association can serve to intimidate potential witnesses, who may not be willing to testify in this case because they may fear that the defendant’s employees will harm them or their families. “
Rittenhouse will be back at Kenosha County Court on March 10 for his final performance leading up to the trial.
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