CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Kyle Rittenhouse, the Antioch teenager charged with shooting and killing two protestors in Kenosha, is expected to plead not guilty in court Tuesday and the city is bracing for possible trouble.
Local officials are bracing for potential protests, because a decision is expected in the next 10 days regarding charges against the white police officer who shot Jacob Blake, a black man, seven times; setting off the unrest during which Rittenhouse is alleged to have fatally shot two protesters while joining armed militia members.
Attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse have argued the Aug. 25 shootings, which wounded a third protester, were acts of self-defense.
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On Monday night, Blake's family and supporters marched in Kenosha demanding “justice.”
Blake's father led a march calling on people to “make noise" and be “heard around the world.”
“(Sheskey) tried to kill my son and could have killed my grandchildren,” Jacob Blake Sr. said during a news conference before the march. “He shot him seven times in his back unjustifiably."
Blake, who police say was armed with a knife, was shot in the back by Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey. Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down.
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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced Monday he was mobilizing 500 National Guard troops before Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announces the charging decision.
“We are continuing to work with our local partners in the Kenosha area to ensure they have the state support they need, just as we have in the past,” Evers said in a statement. “Our members of the National Guard will be on hand to support local first responders, ensure Kenoshans are able to assemble safely, and to protect critical infrastructure as necessary.”
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley is expected any day to announce whether Sheskey will face criminal charges. Concrete barricades and oversized metal fencing surrounded the Kenosha County Courthouse Monday night. Fearing a repeat of the August protests, the Kenosha Common Council on Monday night unanimously approved an emergency resolution that goes into effect with the announcement and allows the mayor to set curfews.
Meanwhile, Prosecutors have charged Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois, with shooting three people, killing two of them, with an assault-style weapon during one of the demonstrations. Rittenhouse, who is white, was 17 at the time of the shootings and has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon where he's expected to enter pleas. If convicted of the murder count, Rittenhouse would face a mandatory life sentence.