Watch: Rittenhouse Judge Addresses Jury After ‘Not Guilty’ Verdict

The Wisconsin judge who presided over the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse thanked jurors after the forewoman finished reading the verdicts.

The jury returned unanimous verdicts of “Not Guilty” on all five charges against Rittenhouse after deliberating for almost four days.

Judge Bruce Schroeder presided over the two-week trial that gripped the nation. Judge Schroeder thanked the jury for their service, adding that he was not commenting in any way on their verdicts.

“You were a wonderful jury to work with,” Schroeder told the jury of seven women and five men. “You were punctual, you were attentive.”

Schroeder also thanked the six alternate jurors. “The forgotten six over here had a very difficult job of keeping from discussing the case during the time that they were sequestered, as well.”

“All of you — I couldn’t have asked for a better jury to work with. And it has truly been my pleasure,” the judge said.

“Without commenting on your verdict, the verdicts themselves, just in terms of your attentiveness and the cooperation that you gave to us, justifies the confidence that the founders of our country placed in you,” Schroeder concluded.

Watch:

Rittenhouse was tried on five felonies that included homicide and attempted homicide. If he had been convicted on all counts, the 18-year-old faced a possible sentence of life imprisonment.

The teenager claimed he acted in self-defense and pleaded “Not Guilty” in his trial for the August 2020 shootings of three men during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The civil unrest followed news of a white police officer shooting Jacob Blake, a black man who became paralyzed after being shot seven times.

Two of the men Rittenhouse shot that night, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, died.

Rittenhouse reportedly fired an AR-15-style weapon eight times during the rioting. He fired four shots at Rosenbaum, who was unarmed. He fired two shots at an unknown person who kicked him.  He fired one fatal shot at Anthony Huber, after he hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard. He fired his last shot at Gaige Grosskreutz, who was holding a gun, according to prosecutors.