Gaige Grosskreutz, who alleged juvenile killer Kyle Rittenhouse shot, acknowledged under oath that he pulled his gun on Rittenhouse and advanced toward him before being shot.
Conservatives argue that the surprising revelation made Monday in a Wisconsin courtroom establishes the teen's self-defense claim.
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, was injured last August amid violent protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17 years old. Rittenhouse also shot and killed two other men that night – 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber – and is being charged with two counts of first-degree homicide, one act of attempted homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment, and two misdemeanor crimes.
While several analysts considered Grosskreutz the prosecution's star witness, his evidence on Monday appeared to buttress Rittenhouse's attorneys' case that the adolescent acted in self-defense.
Grosskreutz stated "no" when asked if the youngster fired back only after pointing a gun at him during cross-examination by defense counsel Corey Chirafisi. When confronted with a photograph showing his bicep being blown apart by a round from Rittenhouse's rifle as he approached the teen, Grosskreutz agreed with Chirafisi that "it wasn't until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him...that he fired."
Conservatives and pro-Rittenhouse pundits immediately seized on Grosskreutz's admission as definitive evidence that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. A video recorded from a different position in the courtroom appeared to show Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus "literally facepalming" upon hearing Grosskreutz speak.
Grosskreutz also admitted during his testimony that he was illegally carrying a weapon on the night he was shot, that he failed to mention the gun in a lawsuit against the City of Kenosha and its police department, and that he believed Rittenhouse's life was in danger when he shot and killed Huber.
Grosskreutz denied telling his roommate, Jacob Marshall, that his "only regret was not killing the kid," as Marshall alleged on social media during their August visit to Grosskreutz in the hospital. Marshall is scheduled to testify Wednesday after receiving a subpoena on Monday.
Throughout the first week of testimony, many witnesses described Rosenbaum — Rittenhouse's first victim that night – as "hyper-aggressive" and "behaving belligerently." One witness, a video editor for the conservative Daily Caller news website, testified in court that he witnessed Rosenbaum threaten Rittenhouse and "lunge" for his gun before the youngster fired fire.
Rittenhouse risks life in prison if convicted of first-degree homicide.
