Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two rioters and injured a third in self-defense during a 2020 riot in Kenosha, Wis., will get to keep a portion of the $2 million in bail money that was raised by his supporters to keep the teen out of jail during his homicide trial last year.
Wisconsin Judge Bruce Schroeder approved the disbursement of the $2 million on Friday after Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards filed a motion seeking the sum, according to Kenosha News.
Judge Schroeder agreed to allow the money to be distributed to multiple parties: actor and fund donor Ricky Schroder will receive $150,000, and both Richards and Dimmer S.C. Law Firm and the FightBack Foundation will receive $925,000.
Richards declined to reveal how much of the bail money Rittenhouse, now 19, will receive.
Prior to Schroeder’s decision, the Patent and Trademark Hedge Fund Trust also filed a motion for the sum, claiming that they deserve the money because they are the creditors of John Pierce, who first represented Rittenhouse.
“It was never John Pierce’s money,” Richards said. “It went into his trust account, not his business account. These people from California came in, and without ever filing the documents, said ‘We want money.’ They were just trying to muck up a settlement and receive something for ‘go away, nuisance fees,’ which we were never going to do.”
“They can do whatever they want in civil court,” he added. “But we, as Rittenhouse or FightBack, have absolutely no obligation or anything to them. They can sue John Pierce, which they’ve already done. Go ahead, sue them again.”
“I’m glad it’s finally taken care of, and I’m glad that the judge did the right thing and signed the stipulation,” said Xavier Solis, an attorney for FightBack Foundation.
Also last week, Judge Schroeder approved an agreement between attorneys that called for the destruction of the AR-15 that Rittenhouse used in self-defense. Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said the state crime lab would likely destroy the rifle in April.
Rittenhouse spokesman Dave Hancock told a Kenosha News reporter in a text that the motion was necessary “legal process … The DA (Kenosha County district attorney) must return his belongings. When the rifle is returned, it will be destroyed.”
Hancock has previously said, “There’s nothing to celebrate about that weapon; there isn’t. Kyle has no interest and no want to recover that weapon, and absolutely no interest to sell it or anything.”
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the agreement included a provision to have the gun’s destruction recorded.
