Defense attorneys for 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse have consistently maintained that their client was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed two men during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August, arguing that the teenager was being chased by a group of people, including one man who fired a shot into the air while pursuing Rittenhouse before the teen was cornered by Joseph Rosenbaum, who was reaching for Rittenhouse’s rifle when he fired at Rosenbaum in self-defense.
The man who fired that shot is now facing charges of his own, and Rittenhouse’s attorneys will almost certainly use the case to buttress their self-defense claims. Thirty-five-year-old Joshua Ziminski is facing a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct-use of a dangerous weapon, but Rittenhouse’s attorneys are likely to argue that Ziminski’s shot, fired from behind Rittenhouse, is evidence that Rittenhouse was in legitimate fear for his life when he shot and killed Rosenbaum.