Kyle Rittenhouse testifies in his own defense

Kyle Rittenhouse, the armed Illinois teenager who killed two people and wounded another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, took the stand today to testify in his own defense in his trial on homicide charges.

Here's what happened today in court:

At the end of court on Wednesday, Judge Bruce Schroeder told members of the Kyle Rittenhouse jury that he expected to finish the case by early next week. 

Before speaking with the jury, defense attorneys indicated to Schroeder they have three witnesses left to call in the case. 

Schroeder asked prosecutors if they expected to call any rebuttal witnesses after the defense rests their case.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger replied, "I don't think it's going to be extensive, but we do reserve the right to call…" 

"Understood," Schroeder interjected. 

After polling the attorneys outside the presence of the jury, the judge also indicated there will be no court this upcoming weekend. 

Defense attorneys said that Dr. John Black is expected to be the first witness for the defense called Thursday morning. 

Court is in recess until 10 a.m. ET Thursday.

The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the armed Illinois teenager who killed two people and wounded another during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer, has adjourned for the day.

The trial will resume Thursday morning.

Kyle Rittenhouse was asked during cross-examination about his encounter with Joseph Rosenbaum before he shot and killed him last summer.

The questioning grew tense and Rittenhouse grew emotional, telling prosecutor Thomas Binger, "I don't know what Mr. Rosenbuaum was thinking when he tried to grab my gun"

While fighting back tears, Rittenhouse repeatedly stated that Rosenbaum "would've killed me" if he allowed him to take his gun from him.

Rittenhouse testified that he "never wanted to shoot, Mr. Rosenbaum" but "he was chasing me."

The defendant insisted that the reason he pointed his gun at Rosenbaum was so he "would stop chasing me."

As Kyle Rittenhouse’s testimony resumed after a lunch break, Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger asked about his encounter with Joseph Rosenbaum.

Rittenhouse testified earlier that Rosenbaum threatened him twice. 

This was the exchange:

Binger also asked Rittenhouse if Rosenbaum had any type of weapon other than the chain Rittenhouse believed he had and whether Rosenbaum charged at him or was physically aggressive toward him. 

Rittenhouse said he did not. 

Is Kyle Rittenhouse's testimony on the stand so far helping or hurting his case? Legal experts weighed in on CNN during a break in the trial this afternoon. Here's what they said.

CNN legal analyst and civil rights attorney Areva Martin

"It was a risky move by the defense team to put him on the stand... but I think in this case, given how the evidence has been presented by the prosecution, that it is working for the defense."

"They presented a very different picture of a Kyle Rittenhouse than what we had seen in the media reports. This is a Kyle Rittenhouse that went there to do good, to take graffiti off of a school, to render aid, to help save a business. This was a very ... humanized Kyle Rittenhouse, and that's what the defense wanted to do ... I think so far Kyle's testimony probably went over pretty well." 

CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates

"If I was the defense, I would have put him on the stand... There was a lot of sympathetic media towards him, people who thought about him as essentially as bit of a martyr from this inflection point on racial tension in America."

However, if "I'm the prosecution, I need him to take the stand for the reasons that came through on the cross-examination. Remember, when he was asked questions by his own attorney you saw the waterworks coming out. He was crying... he was overcome with emotion."

CNN analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson

The defense has "done excellent ... the reality is I say they did well."

"He explained himself with respect to why force was necessary ... He said, 'there was a gun pointed at me, I was in fear for my life.'"

"The reality is that the jurors will render a verdict based upon all types of evidence, but with regard to a defendant testifying, I think this couldn't have gone much better than it did, and the cross couldn't touch him with respect to the prosecutor cross-examining him to try to otherwise discredit him. Didn't do a good job."

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin

"The good news for Kyle Rittenhouse is that he's not on trial for being an idiot. He's on trial for homicide."

"This is a tough case for the prosecution because it does seem like he has a plausible case of self-defense and ... if it were illegal to be an idiot, the jails would be even more crowded than they are now. Homicide is a different matter ... he may have a defense here."

The prosecution zeroed in on Kyle Rittenhouse’s AR-15 type rifle during cross-examination Wednesday. 

Rittenhouse told Binger that he thought he could possess a rifle, but not purchase it at the age of 17 in Wisconsin.

“I cannot legally possess or carry a pistol because I'm not 18 in Wisconsin. I believe it's 18 in Wisconsin for a pistol, but with the rifle, I knew I could possess that rifle. I knew I couldn't buy it but I knew I could like take it, to like the shooting range or possess it,” Rittenhouse said.

Rittenhouse also told Binger that the rifle got in the way at times when he was trying to treat people at the protests in Kenosha that night.

“This big, long AR-15 really got in the way whenever you tried to help someone, right,” Binger asked.

“Sometimes,” Rittenhouse answered, adding, “If I could have legally carried a handgun, I would have carried a handgun…instead of a rifle.”

When Binger asked Rittenhouse if he knew “the capabilities” of the weapon, Rittenhouse replied, “I knew that it could shoot, and I believe from a distance, I don't know how far I'm not an expert on AR-15s.”

Kyle Rittenhouse was asked during cross-examination about an interview that he gave to a video journalist the night of the shooting. The prosecution played video clips from that interview during Rittenhouse's testimony.

In one clip, the person taking the video asks Rittenhouse if he is a certified emergency medical technician. In the video, Rittenhouse replies yes.

After the clip was played, prosecutor Thomas Binger asked Rittenhouse if he lied during the interview that he was an EMT.

"I'm not an EMT," Rittenhouse replied.

Binger followed up, "You're not a certified EMT, you're not an EMT of any kind, you weren't on that night, correct?"

"Yes," Rittenhouse responded.

Here was the rest of the exchange:

Prosecutor Thomas Binger questioned Kyle Rittenhouse about why he felt it necessary to bring a weapon to the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer.

When asked by Binger why he thought anyone would attack him at the protests, Rittenhouse said, "I don't know."

"I brought the gun to protect myself," Rittenhouse said.

Here's more from the exchange between Binger and Rittenhouse: