Kyle Rittenhouse Subject of New Arrest Warrant After Violating Terms of Bond, Prosecutors Say

Prosecutors in Wisconsin are pursuing another arrest warrant for Kyle Rittenhouse on the grounds that he violated the terms of his bond by moving without updating the address that court officials have on file, according to the Associated Press.

A motion filed by Kenosha County prosecutors on Wednesday also sought to increase Rittenhouse's bond by $200,000, the AP reported. Rittenhouse's bond was originally set for $2 million, which his attorneys posted for his bail on November 20.

Rittenhouse's defense team filed an objection to the motion later Wednesday. The objection said members of the defense team previously alerted officials to their concerns about Rittenhouse's safety and unsuccessfully argued to keep the location of a new "safe house" on file but with a seal to prevent the public from accessing it.

Rittenhouse, a teenager from Antioch, Illinois, was accused of shooting three people during a night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25. Two of the shooting victims died and another was injured.

The August 25 protests began in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was partially paralyzed after he was shot in the back seven times on August 23. After reviewing the case, the local district attorney said the officer who shot Blake would not face charges from prosecutors in Kenosha.

In the wake of the shooting that injured Blake, protesters gathered in Kenosha for days to demand an end to violence against Black Americans. The demonstrations also drew counter-protesters like Rittenhouse, who has argued he acted in self-defense the night of August 25.

Following the shootings, Rittenhouse was arrested on August 26. He faces a handful of charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The teenager, now 18, was released on $2 million bail in November with help from fundraising campaigns put together by his supporters.

Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to all of the charges during a virtual court appearance earlier this year. His pretrial conference was set for March 10, after which jury selection was set to begin on March 29.

According to the Wednesday motion, a recent attempt to send a notice to the home at which court records showed Rittenhouse occupied was returned last week. The undelivered mail prompted prosecutors to visit the residence, where they learned another person began renting it in December without Rittenhouse alerting officials to his change in address within 48 hours of moving as required while out on bail, according to the AP.

"He posted no money, so he has no financial stake in the bond," prosecutors said in the motion obtained by Kenosha News, referring to the fundraising efforts that helped Rittenhouse post bail in November. "He is already facing the most serious possible criminal charges and life in prison, so in comparison, potential future criminal penalties are insignificant."

Mark Richards, an attorney for Rittenhouse, told Newsweek later Wednesday that he filed an objection to the motion on his client's behalf. According to a copy of the objection Richards provided Newsweek, a member of Rittenhouse's defense team communicated with Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger on November 30 to request that Rittenhouse's current residence, referred to in the objection as a "safe house," be filed under seal. Rittenhouse's defense team argued keeping Rittenhouse's residence secret was necessary due to threats they received that were aimed at their client, with one received as recently as January 25.

John Pierce, a former member of Rittenhouse's defense team, was told while coordinating the terms of Rittenhouse's release not to share the address of the "safe house," Richards wrote in the objection.

"While completing paperwork related to Kyle's release, Attorney Pierce was directly informed by a high-ranking member of the Kenosha Police Department not to provide the address of the Rittenhouse Safe House because of the numerous threats made against Kyle and his family," the objection said.

"The defense has no objection to providing the court with Kyle Rittenhouse's current address if such information can be withheld from public record and distribution," the objection said. Rittenhouse's defense team continued to say that it had filed an address update under a Motion to Seal and said a bond increase was "unwarranted" due to the circumstances outlined in their objection.

This story has been updated with additional information, background and a response from Kyle Rittenhouse's attorney, Mark Richards.