Family of man shot by Rittenhouse: ‘We are heartbroken’

The family of Anthony Huber — one of the men shot and killed last year by Kyle Rittenhouse  — said they were “heartbroken and angry” in a statement released shortly after Rittenhouse was acquitted Friday on all charges against him.

John Huber and Karen Bloom said “there was no justice today” for their son or the other two men shot in the confrontation last summer — Joseph Rosenbaum, who died, and Gaige Grosskreutz, who was wounded and testified at the trial.

“Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son,” the two wrote in a statement issued by the law firm representing them.

“It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street. We hope that decent people will join us in forcefully rejecting that message and demanding more of our laws, our officials, and our justice system.”

Rittenhouse, 18, shot and killed 26-year-old Huber and 36-year-old Rosenbaum in Kenosha, Wis., last year amid civil unrest related to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who is Black, by a white police officer. Grosskreutz, 27, was wounded in the shooting.

Rittenhouse, who was then 17, had traveled from his home in Antioch, Ill., to Kenosha with an AR-15 to defend businesses from rioters. After the shootings, he was charged with reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide, among other charges — but was acquitted on all counts late Friday. Rittenhouse argued he shot the three men in self defense, tearing up when he took the stand in his own defense to describe how Rosenbaum allegedly rushed at him.

The Huber family is suing local law enforcement in Kenosha County in a separate lawsuit, seeking an unspecified amount in damages related to what they called police negligence for allowing “vigilantes” like Rittenhouse to roam the streets during the riots.

In the Friday statement, the family said they were “proud of Anthony,” calling him a “hero who sacrificed his own life to save others.” But they continued to lambast both Rittenhouse and local police for their actions on the night they lost their son.

“No reasonable person viewing all of the evidence could conclude that Mr. Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. In response to racist and violent calls to action from militia members, Mr. Rittenhouse travelled to Kenosha illegally armed with an assault rifle,” the statement reads. “He menaced fellow citizens in the street. Though he was in open violation of a curfew order, Kenosha police encouraged him to act violently.”