Kyle Rittenhouse portrayed as victim, instigator in dueling opening statements; witnesses take the stand

The Wisconsin jury overseeing the first day of testimony in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial on Tuesday heard from one of his longtime friends who was with him on the night of the shootings in Kenosha, as the defendant’s attorney indicated his client would take the stand during the proceedings.

He told reporters on the ground that night that he was there to protect a local business and help anyone who might have been injured during the riots, after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.

But a prosecutor argued that Rittenhouse set the bloodshed in motion when he started a confrontation with the first man gunned down that night and killed him with a bullet to the back.