Wisconsin prosecutors filed a motion on Wednesday seeking an arrest warrant and an increase in titles for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of killing two people during protests in Kenosha last summer.
The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office alleged that Rittenhouse, 18, violated his bail conditions by failing to notify the court of his change of address, making it more difficult to monitor his whereabouts. A notice for a hearing was returned to the sender without a forwarding address, according to a court document on Thursday.
Mark Richards, a lawyer at Rittenhouse, filed a response to the motion and provided a copy to NBC News on Wednesday night. According to the motion, Rittenhouse was moved to an undisclosed hiding place by his former defense attorney, John Pierce, after the teenager received numerous threats.
“While filling out the paperwork related to Kyle’s release, attorney Pierce was informed directly by a senior Kenosha Police Department official not to provide the Rittenhouse Safe House address due to the numerous threats made against Kyle and his family,” he said. .
Prosecutors argued that since Rittenhouse did not disclose the bail, he maintained a careless attitude and has little incentive to comply with his bail conditions.
“After all, it is extremely unusual for a defendant facing a first-degree murder charge in Kenosha County to deposit money bail and be released from custody until trial,” the motion said. “Rarely does our community see those accused of murder wandering freely.”
Rittenhouse was released from Kenosha County Jail on $ 2 million bail in November, with donations made to his legal defense fund, largely by right-wing activists and conservative celebrities.
The motion asks the court to issue a Rittenhouse arrest warrant and increase his bail by $ 200,000. It also asks the court to order Rittenhouse to update its address immediately.
Rittenhouse’s defense team said it contacted an assistant public prosecutor in November to discuss providing a new address, if prosecutors agreed to a sealed case, but the Kenosha district attorney’s office declined, Richards’s response said.
Rittenhouse is accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, when he traveled to Wisconsin last year to protect an auto dealership during the protests that followed the Blake shooting on August 23.
He is also accused of injuring a third man, Gaige Grosskreutz, who had a firearm.
The court had only changed the conditions for the release of Rittenhouse’s bail on January 22, after he was spotted in a bar. Prosecutors filed a lawsuit after Rittenhouse was caught with his mother in a bar in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, on January 5, the same day he pleaded not guilty.
Rittenhouse was photographed with a shirt that read “Free as F ***”, while the “OK” sign flashed – a gesture that was co-opted by well-known white supremacist groups, the motion said. He was seen drinking alcohol while being serenaded by a group of men singing the Proud Boys anthem, according to the motion.
Wisconsin allows children under 21 to drink alcohol if they are with a parent, although it is illegal in Illinois, where Rittenhouse lived.
Rittenhouse is prohibited from drinking alcohol and prohibited from associating with any group or person known to threaten others based on issues such as race or religion. He cannot have any weapons.
