Kyle Rittenhouse trial coverage:
- Live updates: Day 1 of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial
- Strong opinions outside courthouse as Rittenhouse trial begins
- What Kenosha residents were saying ahead of the trial
- Pretrial publicity turns a spotlight on longtime Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder
- As the Rittenhouse trial begins, focus of the nation drawn to a Kenosha County courtroom
- A look at key players in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial
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While seemingly everyone has an opinion about what the verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial should be, for Alberto Speed of Kenosha, the outcome — and the political battles over the case — feels personal.
Speed, 29, said he was among those who tried to stop Rittenhouse after the first shooting the night of Aug. 25, 2020, identifying himself as a man observed on video standing with his hands up in front of Rittenhouse as he shoots Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz. Speed said he never spoke to police after the shootings, saying he has a previous criminal conviction and did not want to be involved with a police investigation. Police have never identified the man.
Rittenhouse's attorneys contend the Illinois teenager acted in self defense when he discharged his weapon while patrolling streets with others to protect local businesses during rioting that ensued in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
“If you want my opinion I absolutely 100 percent think he murdered those people,” Speed said. ”The hero part (of public opinion) kind of makes me sick.”
Speed said he had not gone out the first two nights of protests and rioting after the Blake shooting, but decided to go out on the street on the third night after widespread fires in Uptown. He said he wanted to help protect his town, and said he was not armed.
In this Aug. 25, 2020, file photo, Kyle Rittenhouse carries a weapon as he walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake.
“I was out there as an independent person who cares about my city and the place I live,” he said.
Speed said he had observed Rosenbaum arguing with armed militia members earlier in the night. When the first shooting happened, Speed said he was among those who ran after Rittenhouse as the teenager headed north on Sheridan Road, saying he hoped to disarm him. “I definitely had no intention of hurting the kid,” Speed said.
This frame grab from video shot by Julio Rosas on Aug. 25, 2020, shows Joseph Rosenbaum, in the red shirt, front center, and Anthony Huber, in the blue hat behind Rosenbaum, confronting armed men during street protests in Kenosha that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Later that night both men were shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse, who says he acted in self defense.
He said there were others on the street who were armed. “If they wanted (Rittenhouse) dead he would have been dead,” he said.
He said was only yards away when Huber was killed and Grosskreutz was shot. The figure Speed identified as himself can be seen backing away with his hands up after the shootings.
Since the shooting, Speed said, he is nervous about being out, and worried if his girlfriend is out of the house. He has trouble sleeping. He is fearful about people having guns in public. The rhetoric around the trial is filling him with anxiety.
“Someone wanted to play superhero, and they shouldn’t have,” Speed said.
IN PHOTOS: Rittenhouse trial Day 1
Kyle Rittenhouse looks back at the potential juror pool during the jury selection process at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Mark Richards, Kyle Rittenhouse's lead attorney, returns from a break during the jury selection at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday, the first day of Rittenhouse's trial in connection to two killings and the injuring of a third man on Aug. 25, 2020, during the unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Kyle Rittenhouse, center, returns to the courtroom for the jury selection portion of his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger makes his way to his table after a break during the jury selection portion of Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, middle right, interviews jurors as Kyle Rittenhouse, front left, and his attorneys Corey Chirafisi, front center, and and Mark Richards listen at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kyle Rittenhouse listens as jurors are asked questions by the judge during jury selection at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Judge Bruce E. Schroeder questions potential jurors to serve for Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kyle Rittenhouse, left, speaks to Corey Chirafisi, one of his attorneys, during jury selection for his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus reads names of witnesses during jury selection for Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger listens as potential jurors are questioned for the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, left, and Mark Richards, the lead attorney for of Kyle Rittenhouse, listen as potential jurors are asked questions by the judge at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Judge Bruce E. Schroeder questions potential jurors to serve for Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kyle Rittenhouse, right, enters the courtroom for jury selection at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday, the first day of Rittenhouse’s trial in connection to two killings and the injuring of a third man on Aug. 25, 2020, during the unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, center, makes his way into the courtroom for jury selection at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday, the first day of Rittenhouse's trial in connection to two killings and the injuring of a third man on Aug. 25, 2020, during the unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Wendy Rittenhouse, Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother, left, appears in court for her son’s trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce E. Schroeder explains the process for jury selection for the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Monday.
Media stages near the Kenosha County Courthouse on the first day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial on Monday.
From left, Wendy Rittenhouse, mother of Kyle Rittenhouse and McKenzie Rittenhouse, sister, await the start of jury selection on the first day of trial for Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wis., Circuit Court Monday Nov. 1, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year.
Defense Attorney Mark Richards, left, and Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger pass near Judge Bruce Schroeder at the start of the lunch break in jury selection on the first day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha, Wis., Circuit Court Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
Judge Bruce Schroeder presides over jury selection on the first day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
Judge Bruce Schroeder presides over jury selection on the first day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
Defense attorneys Mark Richards, foreground, and Corey Chirafisi attend jury selection on the first day of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
Kyle Rittenhouse returns to court with defense attorney Natalie Wisco after a lunch break during jury selection at Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
Defense attorney Mark Richards stands in foreground as defendant Kyle Rittenhouse sits at left, with defense attorney Natalie Wisco, as his other attorney Corey Chirafisi, background right in blue suit, stands during a break in jury selection during his trial in Kenosha, Wis., Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
