Teen accused of killing protesters in Kenosha, Wis., won’t face charges in Illinois

A 17-year-old accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., days after Jacob Blake was shot by police there will not face charges in his home state of Illinois, prosecutors said Tuesday.

An investigation determined that the gun used in the killing of the protesters was purchased, stored and used in Wisconsin, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois said. There is no evidence that the gun was ever physically possessed by teenager Kyle Rittenhouse in Illinois, it said.

Rittenhouse, a resident of Antioch, Ill., remains in a juvenile detention center in Lake County without bond because of pending criminal charges in Kenosha. Rittenhouse is due back in Lake County court Oct. 30 for an extradition hearing.

His arrest has become a rallying point for some on the right, with a legal defense fund that has attracted millions of dollars in donations. But others see Rittenhouse as a domestic terrorist whose presence with a rifle incited the protesters.

Defense attorneys have portrayed Rittenhouse as a courageous patriot who was exercising his right to bear arms during unrest over the shooting of Blake, a Black man who was shot several times in the back by Kenosha police officers.