Rittenhouse prosecutors cling to 'provocation' lifeline after muddying the facts

In a trial where prosecutors unwittingly helped make the case in support of Kyle Rittenhouse’s right of self-defense, they sought during closing arguments to deprive him of that right by arguing that the accused provoked the encounters that led to the deaths of two men and the wounding of another.

In Wisconsin, the law of provocation states that if the defendant is the initial aggressor, he loses his right of self-defense. That makes sense—as long as there is credible evidence that Rittenhouse engaged in a clear act of aggression toward the first man he shot, Joseph Rosenbaum.