Kyle Rittenhouse is asking for the gun that he used to shoot dead two protesters and wound a third to be returned to him, according to court documents.
A motion, filed by his attorney Mark Richards in Kenosha County Circuit Court on Wednesday, requested the return of the AR-15 style rifle to the 19-year-old so that it can be “properly destroyed”.
“Mr Rittenhouse wishes to have all his property released and returned to him,” the motion reads.
“Mr Rittenhouse further wishes to ensure that the firearm in question is properly destroyed.”
The firearm has been in the position of authorities since 26 August 2020, when Mr Rittenhouse was arrested one day after the shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Mr Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, shot Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz on 25 August 2020 during a night of unrest following the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake.
Mr Rosenbaum and Mr Huber were killed while Mr Grosskreutz survived.
At his high-profile homicide trial in November, Mr Rittenhouse said he acted in self-defence when he came under attack.
Prosecutors claimed that it was the teenager who provoked the violence and then used deadly force.
Mr Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in November.
In the motion, Mr Rittenhouse’s attorney writes that the gun was bought for Mr Rittenhouse by his friend Dominick Black on the basis that it would become Mr Rittenhouse’s upon his 18th birthday.
Mr Rittenhouse was 17 at the time and so could not legally purchase a gun, while Mr Black was 18.
With Mr Rittenhouse now 19 years old, the gun is legally his, the documents state.
Black reached a plea deal with prosecutors in January admitting to two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and he was given a $2,000 fine.
Mr Rittenhouse is also seeking the return of other items seized by police officers following his arrest, the motion reads.
These include: ammunition, a firearm sling, a 30-round capacity magazine, an iPhone with case, his cloth face mask, a $1 bill, a tan baseball cap with the American flag and a fishhook on the visor, and the clothes he was wearing on the night of the shooting.
A spokesperson for Mr Rittenhouse said the teenager wishes to destroy the firearm and other items from the night of the shooting so that they can’t be used to “celebrate” what happened.
“At the end of the day, two people did lose their lives, period,” David Hancock told the Associated Press.
“That weapon was involved in that. That weapon doesn’t belong on a mantle.
“It doesn’t belong in a museum. It belongs where Kyle wants it, and Kyle wants it destroyed.”
He added: “There’s plenty of people out there who would like to hold these items up, on both sides. That’s nothing Kyle’s interested in.”
The teenager previously expressed his wishes to destroy the firearm in an interview back in November.
“We don’t want anything to do with that,” he said, adding that the assault-style rifle was being “destroyed right now”.
In Wednesday’s motion, his attorney said that he had previously requested the release of the personal property but that it was yet to be returned.
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for 28 January.
