A 17-year-old who allegedly killed two protesters days after police shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will be spared from gun charges, prosecutors said.
Kyle Rittenhouse will not face charges in his home state of Illinois in connection with the AR-15-style rifle he is accused of using to kill two men and injure a third in Kenosha in August, prosecutors said.
Authorities have determined the rifle that Rittenhouse used in the killing was bought, stored and used in Wisconsin and that the accused never had the weapon in his possession in Illinois, the Lake County State Attorney's Office said.
Rittenhouse remains in a juvenile detention facility in Lake County without bail because of pending charges in Wisconsin. He is set to appear again in Lake County court Oct. 30 for an extradition hearing, USA Today reported.
However, Rittenhouse still faces a gun charge in Wisconsin, as prosecutors have charged him with possession of a dangerous weapon by an individual below 18 years old - a misdemeanor.
The Antioch teenager is being slapped with six charges, including one count of first degree homicide and could be given a life sentence if convicted.
The arrest of Rittenhouse has become a rallying point for some people. They have accumulated a defense fund in the millions. Others consider the teenager to be a local terrorist.
John M. Pierce, Rittenhouse's lawyer, argued in late August that the charge was "incorrect as a matter of state law" and that the U.S. Constitution protected his right to possess a weapon, although he didn't elaborate, the Chicago Tribune reported.
According to the Journal Sentinel, Rittenhouse was acting as a self-designated security officer against the violent demonstrations on the third night of unrest after the shooting of Blake. Rittenhouse considers himself a member of a militia, the report said.
