WAUKEGAN, IL — The Illinois teenager charged with shooting and killing two people and injuring a third during unrest and riots in Kenosha last month is set to challenge his extradition from Illinois to Wisconsin, where he is facing numerous felony charges.
17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse appeared in court on Friday via Zoom.
He remained silent, aside from a "Good Morning, your honor."
His attorney John Pierce said that Rittenhouse and the defense team intend to challenge efforts to send the teen back to Kenosha to face his charges, which could land him in jail for the rest of his life.
Rittenhouse is charged with First-Degree Intentional Homicide and First-Degree Reckless Homicide. Prosecutors say he shot and killed two people and shot and wounded a third on the night of Aug. 25. The teen returned home to Antioch, Illinois where he turned himself into police on Aug. 26.
Rittenhouse's attorney said the teen was acting in self-defense when he allegedly opened fire that night.
"We intend to challenge extradition by habeas corpus. We would ask that procedures be put in place that extradition documents are in-fact sent from Wisconsin so that we can review them," said Attorney John Pierce in court.
The challenge is one that Lake County State's Attorney told reporters is "very rare."
"In 20 years, I haven't seen it happen," said Michael Nerheim, Lake County State's Attorney.
The judge granted an additional 14 days to review paperwork and prepare for the next court day, which will be at 9 a.m. on Oct. 9.
For now, Rittenhouse is set to remain in custody in a juvenile detention center in Illinois.
Outside of the Lake County Courthouse on Friday, protesters gathered with signs that read "Justice for Joeseph and Anthony."
"I hope that there will be some remembrance for these people," said Donald Blake.
Another protester, Matt Muchowski echoed that message.
"They were protesting trying to make the world a better place and for them to be gunned down in the street is just shocking," said Muchowski.
In court, Rittenhouse's attorney also requested permission to bring a laptop into the juvenile detention center housing Kyle Rittenhouse so that they could review digital evidence together.
