Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The turmoil in Kenosha reached new proportions Wednesday as the Trump administration authorized sending National Guard troops from other states to Wisconsin, the Bucks and Brewers canceled their games, and police arrested an Illinois teen who allegedly gunned down two protesters and injured another.
In addition, late Wednesday the Wisconsin Department of Justice named the Kenosha police office who shot Jacob Blake in the back on Sunday night. He is a seven year veteran of the force. The DOJ also said Blake had a knife in his vehicle, although it did not say whether a determination had been made about whether Blake was going for it as he ignored police orders.
The focus much of Wednesday, however, was on the shootings Tuesday night.
Court records show Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, Illinois, was charged in Lake County, Illinois, as a fugitive from justice. That document, reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said he faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge in Kenosha County.
According to videos, interviews and social media posts, Rittenhouse fancied himself a member of a militia aiming to protect life and property. Rittenhouse is seen in a video with armed men who said they were protecting a car lot in Kenosha.
Antioch Police Department Commander Norm Johnson told a Journal Sentinel reporter that Rittenhouse was arrested Wednesday morning and is now in the Lake County judicial system. Johnson was not aware of anyone else being sought in the fatal shootings in Kenosha.
Since Rittenhouse was taken into custody in Illinois, Wisconsin must file documents to extradite him to the state to face homicide charges in Kenosha County.
The warrant referenced in Lake County records is not yet listed in Wisconsin online court records. Based on Wisconsin law, Rittenhouse would be charged as an adult.
Kenosha has been under siege since Sunday, when video of Kenosha police shooting Blake in the back swiftly went viral, much like the horrific footage of George Floyd suffocating at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in May.
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