Kyle Rittenhouse trial adjourns for weekend after defense rests its case: LIVE UPDATES

'Fox News Primetime' host says media is playing the blame game during Kyle Rittenhouse trial

Former Hawaii congresswoman reacts to the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and the country's political divide on 'Fox News Primetime'

Kyle Rittenhouse's mother joins 'Hannity' to discuss the response to her son's case

The co-hosts of "The View" savaged Kyle Rittenhouse Thursday after his emotional testimony claiming self-defense when he shot and killed two people in Kenosha, Wis., saying he had "murdered" two people and fake-cried on the stand.

Sunny Hostin, a former prosecutor and ABC News' senior legal correspondent, said the outcome of the trial would be a "bellwether" for the country.

Read more here.

Former federal prosecutor discusses the implications of Judge Bruce Schroeder admonishing prosecution during Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 'Fox News @ Night'

Defense attorneys representing Kyle Rittenhouse, who is accused of fatally shooting two men and wounding a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, rested its case on Thursday in the divisive murder trial, setting the stage for closing arguments early next week.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating as early as Monday over Rittenhouse's fate related to the Aug. 25, 2020, shootings during fiery unrest in Kenosha. Rittenhouse’s lawyers wrapped their side of the case during the ninth day of trial – just one day after their client took the stand for hours of testimony.

Read more here.

Twitter cracked down on a tweet shared by the Libertarian Party of Kentucky for allegedly violating its policies while siding with Kyle Rittenhouse amid the murder trial. 

There has been a political divide on the 2020 Kenosha shooting that left two dead and another injured as many on the left believe Rittenhouse was actively seeking trouble at the riots sparked from the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake while many on the right believe Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense based on evidence and witness testimony. 

Read more here.

Law professor Jonathan Turley says he has yet to see any real prosecutorial strategy in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial.

The Chicago Police Department has canceled one regular day off this weekend for all full-duty officers to "enhance public safety," a decision reportedly made to brace for possible upheaval ahead of a potential verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin.

"To enhance public safety and to address current crime patterns, all full-duty sworn members will have one regular day off canceled this upcoming weekend between November 12, 2021 through November 14, 2021," the Chicago Police Department told Fox News in an emailed statement.

Yale Law School alumni Vivek Ramaswamy applauds the judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial for getting tough on the prosecutor's 'bad behavior' during his cross-examination.

The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department and the Kenosha Police Department say they have been monitoring the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and will continue to do so.

“We recognize that some varying opinions and feelings revolve around the trial that may cause concerns,” a press release reads. “Both of our departments have dedicated staff working in conjunction with local, State, and Federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of our communities.” 

Judge Bruce Schroeder closes the introduction of evidence, indicating that all testimony in this trial is complete.

Schroeder and both sides are now discussing plans for closing arguments, which are expected to be made on Monday. Judge rules that each side will be allotted two-and-a-half hours for their arguments.

The jury has been excused until Monday morning. According to Fox News' Jiovanni Lieggi, who has been present in the courtroom, the defense and prosecution teams will still be in court on Friday to go over jury instructions.

Defense attorney Mark Richards, one of two people representing Kyle Rittenhouse, says the defense has rested its case.

The prosecution has said they plan to call at least one rebuttal witness. They had planned for only one, but announced just moments ago that they hope to call two more witnesses in an apparent attempt to discredit the defendant.

State first calls rebuttal witness James Armstrong to the stand. Armstrong works as a senior forensic imaging specialist with the Milwaukee Crime Lab and is being asked about photographs that will be admitted into evidence.

Armstrong's testimony is complete after about 20 minutes on the stand. During that time he testifies as to whether a photograph is distorted when it expanded or zoomed in, and if so how.

The prosecution said the two other potential witnesses include: Someone from a police department where Rittenhouse said he obtained his bulletproof vest; and someone from a university where Rittenhouse has said he is enrolled.

Defense has said they plan to rest their case after a brief break, which is expected to end at 2:45 p.m. CT / 3:45 p.m. ET.

Prosecutors said they have plan to call one person to the stand for rebuttal, which they expect might take 10 minutes. 

Prosecutor Thomas Binger has called Dr. John Black back to the stand to question him further about his analysis of video and audio from the night of the shooting, Aug. 25, 2020.

Defense attorney Richards then takes another turn questioning Dr. Black.

Black's testimony is complete after approximately 20 minutes back on the stand.

The defense has indicated Black was their last witness.

EXCLUSIVE – The ongoing murder trial for Kyle Rittenhouse, the man facing charges for fatally shooting two people and wounding a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is "a sham at best," New York City "subway vigilante" Bernhard Goetz told Fox News Digital.

Goetz, who argued self-defense after shooting four teenagers, who were Black, in 1984, spoke to Fox News Digital's Andrew Murray by phone on Thursday morning, when he questioned if the purpose of the trial was "to satisfy a mob." 

"Someone has already hit you with a skateboard, and someone else is pointing a gun at you and they are shouting that they are going to kill you. You also have a gun, wouldn’t you start pointing your gun at them?" he asked.

Read more here.

Trial resumes after a lunch break. Judge Schroeder overrules the defense's objection to Prosecutor Binger's mention of Hernandez's legal representation as potential bias. Binger is allowed to ask Hernandez about that.

Binger also asks Hernandez if he has posted public messages of support in Rittenhouse on social media. After some back-and-forth, Hernandez concedes to the notion that some might see his messages as messages of support for Rittenhouse.

Binger then questions Hernandez about his social media activity in which he calls Rittenhouse by his first name, but calls Joseph Rosenbaum by his last name or as "Mr. Rosenbaum."

Binger asks Hernandez about his characterization that Rittenhouse tried to de-escalate the unrest. He then turns back to Hernandez's Twitter account and a post in which he writes about an "armed citizen" whom he had seen shooting a "rioter" on the night of Aug 25, 2020.

Binger: "By the time you had made a conclusion in your own mind that what they defendant did was the right thing?" He then reads the tweet, appearing to try to further establish that Hernandez is biased. The exact tweet posted by Hernandez at the time is included above.

Binger: "Do you remember that tweet?"

Hernandez: "Yes."

Binger: "And that was shortly after this all happened."

Hernandez: "Yes."

After some additional back and forth, the prosecution finishes its cross-examination of Hernandez, according to Fox News' Jiovanni Lieggi.

Self-defense expert Dr. John Black is expected to be called back to the stand shortly. Defense attorney Mark Richards has said the defense plans to rest its case once Black's testimony has been completed.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger begins cross-examination of Drew Hernandez, first by asking about his job and his work experience. Upon questioning by the court as to the purpose for his questioning, Binger explains that he was trying to acknowledge the witness' potential bias, but is stopped by the judge who reminds Binger that he does not want the case to become political.

Binger says he will move on, and begins asking about video footage. The prosecutor is scolded by the judge shortly thereafter while questioning Hernandez about his decision to retain an attorney for sharing footage pertaining to the case with both sides.

"I would like to know why he felt the need to retain an attorney ... I think it goes to bias to this," Binger says.

The judge calls for a lunch break.

During the break, Binger points out that the defendant is represented by the same law firm that is connected to a previous defense expert in this case, hence Binger's concerns for bias.

"The mere fact that he hired a lawyer," Schroeder says, explaining that it does not see how that indicates bias.

Binger explains he is concerned about bias considering that Hernandez has hired an attorney, an intermediary, who is connected to the same law firm as one of the defense's other expert witnesses.

"This is a law firm, your honor, that is getting presumably paid" by the defense, as an expert witness, and paid by the witness "directly pertaining to the evidence that he's testifying about in this case."

Judge Schroeder says he wants to think about whether or not Binger's argument applies, but says he thinks he will permit it, possibly with limitations.

Schroeder notes if he does permit Binger's argument, as he suspects he will, it is going to be "a closely watched door."

Trial is now on lunch break until 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET

Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi calls Drew Hernandez, who described himself as a "professional commentator" to the stand. Hernandez works for Real America's Voice and has been present at several protests nationwide, including the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Hernandez was capturing video footage on the night of the shooting, including the moments leading up to the shootings.

Hernandez testifies he saw Rittenhouse's interaction with rioters and his effort to de-escalate their actions at times.

Hernandez describes how "rioters" were throwing rocks and launching fireworks on Aug. 25, 2020.

"When the rioters were being dispersed further down Sheridan towards the Car Source dealership, down the street, the rioters were grabbing concrete slabs there, throwing them on the floor to create more rocks and to throw them at police officers, they were launching fireworks and other explosives."

Hernandez continues to describe the night's events, noting that the "rioters initiated that conflict" with the individuals who had "long-arm rifles."

Hernandez: "The rioters identified individuals with long-arm rifles on top of the building, and they immediately attempted to agitate them to try and start some conflict with them, saying, 'You ain't the police, you ain't the police.'"

Hernandez further describes how the rioters' attention, specifically Joseph Rosenbaum's, moved from the police too these people with the rifles.

Chirafisi asks Hernandez if he saw Rittenhouse at this point.

Hernandez: "At that point, Kyle Rittenhouse came out of Car Source 2, and he attempted to de-escalate the situation."

Hernandez later adds that Rittenhouse "clearly attempts to de-escalate the situation, and he actually is successful because the rioters then disperse."

Chirafisi: "Did you see Mr. Rosenbaum do anything that kind of drew your attention?"

Hernandez: "Absolutely. He led the charge into the gas station. He was getting physically aggressive. He appeared to be attempting to start a physical altercation with people in the gas station to the point where he was telling one of the individuals with a rifle, 'Shoot me, n-word, shoot me' ... clearly attempting to start a physical altercation."

Defense attorney Mark Richards calls Officer Brittni Bray, of the Kenosha Police Department, to the stand. He is questioning Bray about the types of shell casings found at the scene of the shootings, and the protocol for when a shell casing is recovered at a crime scene.

The previous witness, Dr. Black, is expected to return to the stand to continue his testimony later in the day.

Prosecution then cross-examined Officer Bray, who asked how a person would handle a gun that has jammed.

The defense then returns for re-cross examination, asking more questions about a gun that would be jammed.

Binger, for the prosecution, then follows up: "If you just fired that gun and the spent shell casing didn't properly .. eject, what would happen?" "It would go click, it wouldn't go bang," Bray responds. Binger then asks if someone would then have to re-rack their weapon, to which Bray responds, "Correct."

Bray was on the stand for mere minutes before her testimony was finished.