A judge denied a request to issue an arrest warrant and increase bail for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with killing two people during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer.
The Kenosha County District Attorney's Office asked the court to increase Rittenhouse's bail by $200,000 last week after Rittenhouse, 18, violated the conditions of his bond by failing to notify the court of his changed address. His attorneys argued that Rittenhouse had to be moved for his own safety after threats were made against him.
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder ordered that Rittenhouse's home address be given to the court and kept from the public record, but he denied prosecutors' requests to be provided the address.
"After what this town has been through in the last six months, I don't want any more problems," Schroeder said. "The police don't need any more problems. We don't need to have people's safety in jeopardy in any way. So I think that the desire that the ... defendant's address be kept from public scrutiny is a legitimate one."
Mark Richards, an attorney for Rittenhouse, alleged in a response to the motion that the defense team asked that his change of address filing be sealed and that prosecutors refused. Thomas Binger, the assistant district attorney in the case, told the judge that it was Richards' responsibility to file a motion for a sealed filing.
Rittenhouse is accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, when he traveled to Wisconsin last year to guard a car dealership during protests after the shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23.
Huber's father, John Huber, spoke in support of the request to increase Rittenhouse's bail. Huber told the judge that while he had lost a son, Rittenhouse is out free to "live it up."
"From the moment he became a killer, he thought he was above the law. He has no remorse," Huber said. "And he's enjoying the media circus and support from these hate groups and militia members that have posted his bond."
Rittenhouse was released from the Kenosha County Jail on a $2 million bond in November with donations made to his legal defense fund, largely from right-wing activists and conservative celebrities.
Prosecutors argued in their request to increase Rittenhouse's bail that he had no incentive to abide by the conditions of his release because he had not put forth any of his own money, resulting in a careless attitude about his bond.
A judge approved new conditions for Rittenhouse's bond on Jan. 22 at the district attorney's request after Rittenhouse was spotted with his mother at a bar in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, on Jan. 5, the same day he pleaded not guilty.
Rittenhouse was photographed in a shirt that read "Free as F***" while flashing the "OK" sign — a gesture that has been co-opted by known white supremacist groups, the motion said. He was seen consuming alcohol while being serenaded by a group of men who sang the Proud Boys' anthem, according to the motion.
The state of Wisconsin allows those under age 21 to drink alcohol if they are with a parent. It is illegal in Illinois, where Rittenhouse was living.
Rittenhouse is barred from drinking alcohol and prohibited from associating with any group or person known to menace others on the basis of factors like race or religion. He also can't have any weapons.
