The Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse could be released from custody on $2 million bail

• Kyle Rittenhouse was ordered held on $2 million cash bail. He remained in custody at the Kenosha County jail on Tuesday morning.
• The 17-year-old Illinois resident is accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and injuring a third.
• Rittenhouse, now a symbol to some on the right, crossed state lines with an AR-15 and shot multiple people. He's claiming self defense.

A Wisconsin judge on Monday set bail for the 17-year-old Kenosha shooter at $2 million, according to court records viewed by Insider.

Kyle Rittenhouse, a pro-Trump conservative from Illinois, crossed state lines armed with a rifle in an attempt to defend businesses from unrest during anti-police protests.

Rittenhouse, who has become a symbol for some on the right, faces five felony charges stemming from the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and the injury of Gaige Grosskreutz.

Rittenhouse opened fire on Rosenbaum after he approached him and threw a plastic bag, according to a criminal complaint made public by the Epoch Times. A witness — Richard McGinnis, a reporter for The Daily Caller — told investigators that Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, appeared to be attempting to get the gun from Rittenhouse when he was shot.

"The defendant told McGinnis that he was a trained medic," the complaint said. "McGinnis stated that he (McGinnis) has handled many ARs and that the defendant was not handling the weapon very well."

When people started chasing the Rittenhouse, who had already shot one protester, he fired again, shooting Huber in the chest, according to the complaint.

Grosskreutz, who appeared to be holding a handgun, was shot in the arm, the complaint said.

Rittenhouse was arrested in Illinois and then extradited to Wisconsin.

At a bail hearing on Monday, Rittenhouse's attorney Mark Richards opposed the prosecution's request for a $2 million bail and claimed that the teen was acting in self-defense from "a mob."

"The self-defense claim in this case is overwhelming. It's on video tape," Richards said at the hearing held over Zoom. "And in all of those circumstances, three-quarters of a million and electronic monitoring is more than sufficient."

The prosecution argued Rittenhouse is a flight risk and could be aided by people who have raised more than $556,000 to support him

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger argued that if released on bail, Rittenhouse would be a flight risk. Other than a part-time job as a lifeguard, the teen has no ties to Kenosha. His family, who lived in Anitoch, Illinois, has moved from their home and prosecutors don't know their current address.

"Two people were killed in this case. These charges are as serious as we get in Wisconsin," Binger said. "There is a certainty that if the defendant is convicted he will be sent to prison and strong likelihood that he will serve most if not the remainder of his life in prison if he is convicted of these charges."

John Huber, father to one of the victims, also spoke at the hearing, arguing that he doesn't think $2 million goes far enough to secure that Rittenhouse won't flee the area with the assistance of his supporters.

Within a week of Rittenhouse being charged in the August 25 shooting, his supporters had raised more than $300,000 to support his legal defense fund. That fund on the Christian fundraising site givesandgo.com has now exceeded $556,000.

"He has people out there who will help him, organizations of militia members who are raising money for him right now. They will harbor him," Huber said. "Kyle Rittenhouse thinks he's above the law. He's been treated as such by law enforcement, and so he believes he's justified in this case. For him to run wouldn't surprise me."

"Who gives a kid an assault rifle and says, 'go to Wisconsin'?" he added. "This is what we're up against here."

Court commissioner Loren Keating sided with prosecutors, ordering the $2 million bond, and requiring that Rittenhouse not possess weapons or contact the family of his victims.

Rittenhouse remained in custody at the Kenosha County jail on Tuesday morning.

He is due back in court on December 3.

• Read more:
• Kyle Rittenhouse was obsessed with Blue Lives Matter and appeared 'on edge' before shots rang out
• Kyle Rittenhouse admitted he 'ended a man's life' and 'shot two white kids' in Kenosha shootings, but claimed self defense, police said
• DHS officials were told to give supportive interviews about Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse