A Wisconsin judge has modified the release conditions for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged with killing two men amid protests in Kenosha last year, after prosecutors alleged he drank beers and was “serenaded” with the Proud Boys anthem at a bar while out on bail.
An attorney for Rittenhouse did not object to the change in bond conditions after they were proposed in January. Rittenhouse, now 18, is free after posting $2 million bail.
Under the new terms, Rittenhouse is barred from drinking alcohol and prohibited from associating with any group or person known to menace others on the basis of things like race or religion. He can’t have any weapons.
The 18-year-old is charged with fatally shooting two people in Kenosha on Aug. 25 during protests and unrest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. His attorneys have argued that he was acting in self-defense. His case has been supported by some on the right.
Prosecutors sought to change his bond conditions after they alleged Rittenhouse was at a bar in Mount Pleasant with his mother on Jan. 5.
While there, Rittenhouse drank three beers and was serenaded by five men with a song used as an anthem for the far-right group the Proud Boys, prosecutors said in the motion. He also was seen on video flashing the “OK” sign, which prosecutors said has been co-opted by white supremacist groups.
Rittenhouse’s attorney has said in court papers that he is not and has never been a member of a white supremacist group. The attorney said Rittenhouse did not object to the new bond conditions.
While in other parts of the country one must be 21 years old to legally drink alcohol, in Wisconsin people young than that can drink if they are with a parent.
