August 2020: Attorney Said Rittenhouse Legally Possessed His Gun

On August 30, 2020, attorney John Pierce claimed his client, Kyle Rittenhouse, legally possessed the gun he used on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, days prior.

Pierce told Breitbart News Sunday, “Wisconsin is an open carry state. You’ve seen the video of what was going on in that city. It was a war zone, and Kyle had every right — just as much a right — to be there as the people that were trying to burn down that city, and he was attempting to protect property and attempting to be there to provide medical aid.”

He claimed Rittenhouse was chased and threatened by those whom he ultimately shot, stressing, “It’s absolute 100 percent self-defense, and we’re going to prove it if we have to. It was legal for him to possess that weapon in Wisconsin.”

Pierce also noted:

We’re going to trial. We’re going to win this case. If I’m the prosecutor, I drop these charges immediately. I think that this is a rush of judgment, and if I was the prosecutor, I would be terrified to take this case to trial. I do not believe that there’s a jury in this country that’s going to look at these facts and is going to find him guilty for murder.

On Monday, November 15, 2021, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the weapons charge against Rittenhouse, siding with defense arguments that the charge was only applicable if Rittenhouse’s firearm was a Short Barrel Rifle (SBR).

Rittenhouse’s gun was not an SBR.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at [email protected]. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.