KENOSHA – Kenosha County prosecutors are trying to modify Kyle Rittenhouse’s bail contract after saying that the 18-year-old displayed white energy posters while posing for photos, drank several beers and was “serenaded aloud” with official Proud Boys song on a Mount Pleasant Barra.
Rittenhouse, accused of shooting and killing two people and injuring a third during protests and unrest in Kenosha last summer, was released from the Kenosha County Jail on $ 2 million bail. This bond agreement, in its current state, does not restrict Rittenhouse from entering a bar or drinking alcohol – as minors can do in the company of parents in Wisconsin – nor does it prevent him from fraternizing with known members of white supremacy groups.
In a motion to change Rittenhouse’s bail on Wednesday, the Kenosha County District Attorney’s office details Rittenhouse’s January 5 visit to Pudgy’s Pub with his mother. Rittenhouse stopped at Mount Pleasant tavern shortly after pleading not guilty to the murder charges in connection with the shooting in Kenosha. Rittenhouse’s lawyers argue that he fired his rifle in self-defense.
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Prosecutors are now asking for Rittenhouse’s bail to be changed to include the following:
- The defendant is prohibited from possessing or consuming alcohol.
- The accused cannot be present in any establishment where alcohol is served.
- The defendant will be prohibited from making any public display of any signs, symbols or gestures of “white power” or “white supremacy”.
- The defendant must not have contact with any known members of the militia or known members of any violent white power / white supremacist group or organization, including, but not limited to, the group identified as “Proud Boys”.
Kenosha County Prosecutor’s Office
According to documents from the Kenosha miners on Wednesday, Rittenhouse, his mother and several other adults arrived at Pudgy’s Pub on Washington Avenue. Local police were soon notified of Rittenhouse’s presence there, and later collected surveillance videos and images of his visit to the bar. [Those photos are included in this article].
Rittenhouse stayed at the bar for about an hour and a half, prosecutors say. He wore a T-shirt that said “Free as shit”.
After arriving outside the bar, Rittenhouse posed for pictures with two other men in his group. In these photos, Rittenhouse and the other men displayed the “OK” sign, which was co-opted as a “white power” sign by white supremacists, according to prosecutors.
Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office
After posing for the photos, Rittenhouse entered the bar and was served with a beer by the bartender, says the movement. He consumed a total of three beers during his time at Pudgy’s.
Within minutes of entering the bar, Rittenhouse was also “sung out loud” by five adult men in her group with the song “Proud of Your Boy” – an obscure song written for the 1992 Disney film “Aladdin” , state prosecutors.
The white supremacy group, the Proud Boys, was named after that song, and the song is sung by members of the group, says the motion.
Kenosha County Prosecutor’s Office
Rittenhouse posed for several other photos with the men at the bar. In each of these photos, Rittenhouse and the other men displayed the “OK” sign used by white supremacists, prosecutors said.
“The defendant then stayed with these ‘Proud Boys’ for the entire time he was at the bar,” says the motion.
Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office
Motion to modify Rittenhouse’s bond
Prosecutors therefore argue in their motion that Rittenhouse should first not be allowed to own or consume alcohol. They claim 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 – combined with the reality that Rittenhouse is accused of the most serious crime in Wisconsin, first-degree murder, they argue.
Prosecutors also argue that Rittenhouse should be prevented from associating with known members of the militia or known members of any violent group of white power or white supremacy. They argue that the group advocated violence, was involved in extremist demonstrations and movements and its members were arrested for committing crimes.
Prosecutors write: “The defendant’s continued association with members of a group that is proud of the violence, and the use of their symbols, raises the significant possibility of future harm. In addition, this association can serve to intimidate potential witnesses, who they may not want to testify in this case because they may fear that the defendant’s associates will harm him or their families. “
Rittenhouse will be back in Kenosha County Court on March 10 for his final pre-trial presentation.
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