Rittenhouse Kenosha protest shootings court hearing week before trial

Final court hearing before Kyle Rittenhouse trial begins

Kyle Rittenhouse is expected in court in Kenosha County Monday, Oct. 25. Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch, Illinois, is charged with killing two protesters during unrest in Kenosha in 2020.

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. - Kyle Rittenhouse is expected in court in Kenosha County Monday, Oct. 25. Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch, Illinois, is charged with killing two protesters during unrest in Kenosha in 2020.

A judge will hear testimony from a use-of-force expert in the case with the trial scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 1. Earlier in October, the defense expert argued Rittenhouse acted in self-defense.

It's been more than a year since chaos unfolded in the streets of Kenosha. Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with shooting and killing two protesters and injuring a third.

Kyle Rittenhouse

For the past year, the defense and prosecution have been building their cases.

"There were other chaos tourists, like the defendant, who were drawn like a moth to the flame to our community," said Thomas Binger, Kenosha County assistant district attorney.

On Monday, Judge Bruce Schroeder is expected to make a decision on whether the defense's use-of-force expert will be allowed to testify at trial. He's already said Rittenhouse acted in self-defense.

"I validated the timing of the shots by both the video graphic information and audio stream," said John Black, expert witness.

Kyle Rittenhouse

The judge has denied a Rittenhouse defense team request to dismiss the charge that he possessed a semi-automatic rifle illegally because he was a minor.

"I’m going to deny the motion, for now," said Judge Schroeder. "There’s no guarantee I won’t re-examine this."

The judge also denied video of a fistfight from June 202 and is leaning toward a denial of video taken more than two weeks before the Kenosha shootings showing Rittenhouse talking about wanting to shoot CVS customers with his rifle because he thought they were shoplifting.