Judge delays Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial by at least 7 months

A judge has delayed the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager accused of fatally shooting two demonstrators at a protest sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha last August, by at least seven months, NBC News reports.

According to the news agency, Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder moved the start date of the trial, which was set to begin later this month, to Nov. 1. The move reportedly comes after both the prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case said they wouldn’t be prepared by the time of the initial start date. 

However, the judge later reportedly added that the date for the trial to start was “not written in stone.” There will reportedly be a status hearing in mid-May. 

Rittenhouse, now 18, was charged last year with first-degree intentional homicide and attempted intentional homicide after he allegedly fatally shot two protesters and injured another during a local protester. 

Prosecutors said Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the protest, had travelled to Kenosha from Antioch, Ill., during the widespread protests against police brutality prompted by the Blake shooting to defend local businesses. 

Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to the charges, after previously arguing he was acting in self-defense. His attorneys have claimed his actions are protected by the Second Amendment.

The case surged to national attention last year as a number of prominent Republicans and conservatives came out in support of the teen, raising money to help pay his legal fees.

The move by the judge on Wednesday also comes months after Rittenhouse was released from the Kenosha County Jail after his attorneys were able to raise enough funds through an account to pay his $2 million bond.