Prosecutors and defense lawyers are making their closing arguments in the criminal trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who is charged with homicide after fatally shooting two protesters during unrest last year in Kenosha, Wis.

Rittenhouse and his lawyers have argued that he was acting in self-defense when he shot three people with his AR-15-style rifle. In a dramatic turn on the stand last week, Rittenhouse testified that he feared for his life.

A prosecutor hoping to send Kyle Rittenhouse to prison made closing arguments in his homicide trial on Monday. The jury was expected to begin weighing later in the day whether Mr. Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense, or needlessly and illegally, when he shot three men in Kenosha last summer, two of them fatally, during a night of unrest.

Thomas Binger, who is leading the prosecution, used some of his final moments before the jury to attack Mr. Rittenhouse’s claim that he thought he had to fire at the men to stop them from killing or gravely wounding him.

Rittenhouse faces charges including first-degree intentional homicide, which is Wisconsin’s murder count; attempted first-degree intentional homicide; first-degree reckless homicide and reckless endangering.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he and at least one friend said they traveled to the Wisconsin city of Kenosha from Illinois on Aug. 25, 2020, to protect local businesses and provide medical aid after two nights of unrest, with businesses being looted and set on fire. 

A juror was dismissed in Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial Thursday morning after he told a joke to a deputy earlier this week about the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

The incident occurred when a male juror made a joke about the shooting while being escorted to his car, Judge Bruce Schroeder said.

"I'm going to summarize what I remember, what I was told," Schroeder said. "He was telling a joke ... he told the officer ... he made a reference about telling a joke about 'Why did it take seven shots to shoot Jacob Blake,' something to that effect."

During the Fourth of July weekend, Jacob Blake says he called 911 over what he later realized was an anxiety attack.

The fireworks triggered what he felt had been a crescendo of pain over a difficult and turbulent year, particularly when it came to gun violence. Blake was in the Chicago area that weekend with family.

He says the anxious episode "was the most painful experience" since he was shot seven times in his side on August 23, 2020 by Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey after he and two other officers responded to a call for a domestic incident.

Jacob Blake admitted during his one-on-one interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America" that he was armed with a knife at the time he was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha Police Department officer in August. Videos from the shooting sparked several days of riots that resulted in millions of dollars of damage and multiple shootings.

In his first television interview since being shot in the back by police, Jacob Blake admitted that he not only had a knife in his possession at the time of the shooting, but also “dropped” it before picking it up again.

“I realized I had dropped my knife, had a little pocket knife. So I picked it up after I got off of him because they tased me and I fell on top of him,” Blake told Michael Strahan in an interview that aired Thursday on ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA).

A prosecutor did not file charges against the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back in Kenosha, Wisconsin in Aug. 2020.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said in a press conference Tuesday that he was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that police officer, Rusten Sheskey, was not acting in self-defense when he shot Blake.

“I do not believe the state … would be able to prove that the privilege of self-defense is not available,” Graveley said.

The Wisconsin cop who shot Jacob Blake on Aug 23 will not face criminal charges in the case — nor will any other officers, Kenosha District Attorney Michael Graveley announced Tuesday.

“It is my decision .. that no Kenosha law enforcement officer in this case will be charged with any criminal offense based on the facts and the laws,” Graveley said.

Blake was shot by Police Officer Rusten Sheskey, who was responding to a report of a domestic disturbance.

Kenosha city officials are preparing for unrest as they wait for the Kenosha County district attorney to make a decision in the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

On Monday, the Kenosha City Council is expected to vote on a resolution put forward by Mayor John Antaramian that, if approved, would create an emergency declaration for the city “regarding potential civil unrest" in the event DA Michael Graveley makes a decision within the first two full weeks of January.

Graveley has said he would make an announcement during that time frame but has not been more specific.