MSNBC prosecutor blows apart Kenosha gunman's self-defense claims

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story claimed that Rittenhouse carried his weapon across state lines. This is incorrect. Prosecutors of the case said there is no evidence this happened and in October 2020, the Office of the State's Attorney in Lake County said that an "investigation revealed the gun used in the Kenosha shooting was purchased, stored and used in Wisconsin. Additionally, there is no evidence the gun was ever physically possessed by Kyle Rittenhouse in Illinois.” Raw Story regrets the error.

A prosecutor busted up self-defense claims by an Illinois teen who killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that claims by Kyle Rittenhouse's attorneys are contradicted by video evidence and undermined by the law.

"His lawyers are setting up for a self-defense claim," Aronberg said. "Keep in mind he was the one that put the night of violence in motion."

"So he was the initial aggressor, and under the initial aggressor doctrine, he's not allowed self-defense unless he makes it clear he's abandoning the fight or others come at him using excessive force, and according to videos doesn't look like either of those claims hold water," he continued. "Because the first person that he shot didn't have a weapon. The second person he shot and killed came at him with a skateboard. The lawyers will say a guy wielding a skateboard could be dangerous. You tell that to a jury that Rittenhouse, who had an AR-15, was in reasonable fear of his life from a guy with a skateboard."

"I think the first-degree murder charges here may need to be dropped down to second-degree murder or manslaughter because I don't know if the elements are there," Aronberg added. "But he could face 60 years in prison instead of life, so it's still essentially life. Another thing we need to be concerned about, what kind of message does this send to young people, when you hold this guy up to be a hero. There's hundreds of thousands of dollars being raised for his defense fund. Well, that encourages other vigilantes to go into conflict zones and possibly take other lives knowing they too could be a hero on the far right. That puts everyone at risk."