Attorney compares Rittenhouse shootings to Blake shooting

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The man whose shooting by a Wisconsin police officer set off the street protests in Kenosha was rarely mentioned at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial, but Jacob Blake turned up in Monday’s closing arguments. But not by name. Rittenhouse defense attorney Mark Richards referred to Blake as he argued to jurors that Rittenhouse had the right to self-defense when he shot Joseph Rosenbaum and two other men in August 2020. Richards said “Other people in this community have shot people seven times and it’s been found to be OK.” That was a reference to Officer Rusten Sheskey shooting Blake. Sheskey was cleared by a prosecutor. Richards then argued that his client, Rittenhouse, shot someone four times to protect his own life.