Update: A Wisconsin jury found Rittenhouse not guilty of all charges on Nov. 19, 2021. Read our story on the verdict here. Read all of our Rittenhouse exclusives here.
We’ve decided to tell you the criminal histories of the three men, including Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, who were involved in the Kenosha shooting in Wisconsin. Here’s why.
We think the public is entitled to know all of the context to properly understand what unfolded that night. The Kenosha County District Attorney charged Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, with first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting death of Anthony M. Huber; with first-degree reckless homicide in the shooting death of Joseph D. Rosenbaum; and with attempted first-degree intentional homicide for wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. Read the criminal complaint here. Rittenhouse’s attorney says he acted in self-defense when attacked by what the lawyer called a vicious mob. You can read the lawyer’s statement here.
Rittenhouse was acquitted by a jury.
(Note: See some of our other exclusives here, including video of arson suspects starting a Kenosha business on fire, and an eyewitness who says he saw a man with a walkie-talkie directing carloads of people right before the arson fires broke out. We also found shell casings Kenosha police missed at the first Rittenhouse shooting scene. Wisconsin’s largest newspaper, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, argued that readers shouldn’t get to know the shot men’s criminal records. Read our column explaining why they’re wrong here.)
The jurors have not learned details of these histories. These are the criminal histories of Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz:
Joseph Rosenbaum
Joseph Don Rosenbaum lived in Kenosha. He had an open case for misdemeanor bail jumping that was filed on July 30, 2020.
The conditions of bond read: “Not to Possess or Consume Alcohol. *Not To Possess or Consume Controlled Substances w/o a Prescription. No contact including the residence, electronic or 3rd party with: Kariann S, Park Ridge Inn.”
Rosenbaum also had open misdemeanor cases for battery (domestic abuse) and disorderly conduct (domestic abuse).
Court documents obtained by Wisconsin Right Now from the Pima County (Arizona) Clerk of Courts confirm Rosenbaum was charged by a grand jury with 11 counts of child molestation and inappropriate sexual activity with children, including anal rape, masturbation, oral sex, and showing minors pornography. The victims were five boys ranging in age from nine to 11 years old. He was convicted of two amended counts as part of a plea deal. See those documents here.
News articles say Joseph “Jojo” Rosenbaum was the father of a 2-year-old girl. He was 36-years-old. No Joseph Rosenbaum is found on the Wisconsin sex offender registry right now, but he may have been removed because he’s deceased. Screenshots and city databases show that he was on that registry for sexual contact with a minor case out of Arizona.
We asked the Wisconsin Department of Corrections if they had a Joseph Rosenbaum on the registry before and they said yes and they were notified he’s now deceased. See their response to us here:
The conviction date was 2002. It gives his nickname as JoJo.
We contacted the Arizona Department of Corrections, and they confirmed that the middle name and date of birth for the Arizona offender is the same as those of the Joseph Rosenbaum with the Kenosha address in Wisconsin court records. And the Facebook page of the Joseph Rosenbaum who was shot by Rittenhouse indicates he’s engaged to Kariann, confirming the CCAP entries. The Wisconsin and Arizona initial offense dates are also the same.
The Arizona inmate page for Rosenbaum through the Department of Corrections there shows multiple violations for things like assaulting staff, throwing substances, assault by weapon, disobeying orders, and so on.
His Facebook page confirms ties to Arizona and says he’s from Waco, Texas.
Rosenbaum was released from a hospital, where he went for a suicide attempt, the day of the shootings. He had bipolar disorder.
Testimony during the trial described him as belligerent, issuing threats to Rittenhouse, and agitated throughout the night, as well as being involved in an arson fire.
The complaint says that Rosenbaum did “initially try to engage the defendant. (Richie) McGinnis (an eyewitness) stated that as the defendant was walking Rosenbaum was trying to get closer to the defendant. When Rosenbaum advanced, the defendant did a ‘juke’ move and started running,” according to the complaint. “McGinnis said that the unarmed guy (Rosenbaum) was trying to get the defendant’s gun. McGinnis demonstrated by extending both of his hands in a quick grabbing motion and did that as a visual on how Rosenbaum tried to reach for the defendant’s gun…McGinnis said that he definitely made a motion that he was trying to grab the barrel of the gun. McGinnis stated that the defendant pulled it away and then raised it.”
Gaige Paul Grosskreutz
But, but, but he was just a”peaceful protestor” holding a cell phone…👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/EEp45iDOqj
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 26, 2020
Grosskreutz’s arrest history from the state Department of Justice is lengthy. There are multiple dismissed cases, including a felony conviction that was expunged.
In January 2021, he was accused of second-offense drunk driving. Prosecutors moved for the case to be dismissed after a hearing, and it was.
Gaige Paul Grosskreutz has a forfeiture case for not showing obedience to officers, as well as one for loud noises.
He was convicted of a criminal misdemeanor in 2016 for going armed with a firearm while intoxicated. He gave a West Allis address.
People on social media are alleging that Grosskreutz is a Wisconsin felon. However, he has no felony convictions in the Wisconsin court system. This old archived web page alleges he was arrested on burglary charges, but nothing comes up in the court website for that case. However, the DOJ history we linked to above shows a more extensive arrest history as well as the expunged felony conviction. He confirmed in court that he has one criminal conviction. It’s for this:
Online records show he’s affiliated with The People’s Revolution, the Milwaukee-area protest group that has been protesting at Mayfair Mall and elsewhere. The man accused of attacking and shooting at Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah was also affiliated with that group.
He was also accused of prowling by West Allis police. The police report accuses him of “lurking” in an area where police keep their private vehicles, videotaping them. We have a call into municipal court to obtain the disposition. They said he was found guilty of loitering.
Anthony M. Huber
Huber had a disorderly conduct conviction from 2018 as a domestic abuse repeater, which is a misdemeanor. He gave a Kenosha address. Here are the charges in that case.
940.19(1) Battery Misd. A Dismissed on Prosecutor’s Motion
Modifier: 939.62(1)(a) Repeater
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
2 947.01(1) Disorderly Conduct Misd. B Guilty Due to Guilty Plea
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
Modifier: 939.62(1)(a) Repeater
He also had a forfeiture case for possessing drug paraphernalia.
He also had a case from 2012 with these charges:
1 941.30(2) 2nd-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety Felony G Charge Dismissed but Read In
Modifier: 939.63(1)(c) Use of a Dangerous Weapon
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
2 940.235(1) Strangulation and Suffocation Felony H Guilty Due to Guilty Plea
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
3 940.30 False Imprisonment Felony H Guilty Due to Guilty Plea
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
Modifier: 939.63(1)(b) Use of a Dangerous Weapon
4 940.19(1) Battery Misd. A Charge Dismissed but Read In
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
Modifier: 939.63(1)(a) Use of a Dangerous Weapon
5 947.01(1) Disorderly Conduct Misd. B Charge Dismissed but Read In
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
Modifier: 939.63(1)(a) Use of a Dangerous Weapon
6 947.01(1) Disorderly Conduct Misd. B Charge Dismissed but Read In
Modifier: 968.075(1)(a) Domestic Abuse
This is Huber’s incarceration history from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
There are no contact orders in those cases and he was ordered not to possess weapons.
Huber’s criminal history came up in court; the prosecutors presented a relative as a character witness, but the defense said if the prosecution continued down that path they would reveal the other side to Huber.
“[Anthony] Huber told his brother that if he didn’t start cleaning a room in his house he was going to gut him like a pig,” Rittenhouse’s lawyer Corey Chirafisi said in court adding, according to The New York Post that Huber “did this while holding a 6-inch butcher’s knife to the brother’s stomach.”
“Huber grabbed his brother by the neck, dug his nails in and choked him for approximately ten seconds,” Chirafisi said. “He put a knife to his brother’s left ear and his brother felt it cut.”
He said: “I’m going to burn the house down with all you f—kers in it,” that defense attorney said.
Gaige Grosskreutz, Joseph Rosenbaum & Anthony Huber Criminal Records Explored
The media have largely sanitized the criminal histories of these three men.
The bottom line: Rosenbaum was a registered sex offender who was out on bond for a domestic abuse battery accusation and was caught on video acting aggressively earlier that night. Huber was a felon convicted in a strangulation case who was recently accused of domestic abuse. Grosskreutz was convicted of a crime for use of a firearm while intoxicated and was armed with a handgun when shot (he testified in court that he carried it concealed despite having an expired permit; Wisconsin law requires a valid permit to carry a weapon concealed).
Here’s a video that shows Rosenbaum acting aggressively shortly before the shooting. He’s in the red shirt.
Turns out the man Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed last night in #Kenosha was Joseph D Rosenbaum, a convicted sex offender of sexual conduct with a minor
Here is video I shot of him begging to be “shot” in front of a gas station minutes before his death pic.twitter.com/tUfUGWX3io
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) August 27, 2020
To be clear, we don’t think the criminal history of everyone shot and killed is relevant in crime stories. We also don’t believe that anyone deserves to be shot because they have a criminal history, and that’s true of these three men. We also acknowledge that human beings are complex, and the men surely had good aspects to their personalities.
What makes their criminal histories relevant for the public to at least consider: The three men who were shot had placed themselves in the midst of a scene of violent rioting that, for days, included lawless anarchy (there were arson fires in the area that night too), and the defendant is on video saying earlier that he was there to prevent damage to people and property. All three men were confronting Rittenhouse when shot and two were trying to grab his gun; in the first case, Rittenhouse was running away, and in the second situation, he tried to but fell. That’s from the criminal complaint.
Rosenbaum was also caught on video using a racial slur earlier that night. “Shoot me (n word),” he says in the video. Multiple eyewitnesses told Wisconsin Right Now at the scene that they believe Rittenhouse was arguing with men who were starting an arson fire before the shootings because he was upset about the fire. Video does show a dumpster fire.
This is what triggered this skirmish
A Good Samaritan put out a trash can fire that rioters were about to push into police squad cars
Rioter were then triggered by it and went after the gas station in retaliation pic.twitter.com/zbnf1IcRZM
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) August 27, 2020
The witnesses believed this ignited the argument between Rittenhouse and the first victim. The complaint does not explain what authorities believe instigated that first argument. It’s certainly consistent with Rittenhouse’s behavior earlier in the night, though, as he was seen cleaning up graffiti, protecting a used car lot (used car lots had already been targets of serious vandalism and arson), and walking around with a medic bag.
“A person with the red shirt was arguing,” Delreno Jackson, one of those witnesses, said in an interview at the scene. Rosenbaum was wearing a red shirt that night. Jackson said that a garbage can was thrown after Rittenhouse was upset that Black Lives Matter protesters were lighting a fire. We observed the garbage can lying toppled over in the street inside the crime scene tape. Video does mention a man in a red shirt being in a confrontation with Rittenhouse in the earlier shooting (this was later determined to be Rosenbaum).
The criminal complaint alleges that Rosenbaum was trailing Rittenhouse, threw a plastic bag at him, initially tried to engage him, advanced toward him, and was trying to grab Rittenhouse’s gun when he was shot. It says that Rittenhouse, 17, was trying to evade Rosenbaum. The New York Times says a gunshot fired by an unknown person was heard right before Rittenhouse fired (he was later identified as Joshua Ziminski). Others were also chasing Rittenhouse at the time, video shows.
Some believed from the start that Rittenhouse had a self-defense argument, which would make the perceived or real dangerousness of men confronting or trailing him more arguably relevant. He was, in fact, acquitted based on self-defense.
The complaint says Huber was also trying to grab Rittenhouse’s gun and his skateboard made physical contact with Rittenhouse right before Rittenhouse shot him. Rittenhouse fell after being chased down the street, and photos and videos show him being struck with the skateboard as multiple people come toward him.
Huber’s loved ones have called him a hero, a narrative widely circulating online. Was he? Could the truth be complicated? Is it at least possible that Huber thought he was confronting an active shooter (which would certainly be a heroic act) because he didn’t see what happened in the earlier shooting with Rosenbaum, but Rittenhouse thought he was being attacked, first by Rosenbaum and then by Huber and others? Huber’s shooting occurred seconds after another unidentified man jumped at and over Rittenhouse, who fired at him, but missed, the complaint says. “Get his ass,” someone shouted around this time.
Grosskreutz was moving toward Rittenhouse when shot and holding a handgun, the complaint says.
Another view of Kenosha militia shooting #kenoshaprotest #KenoshaUprising #KenoshaShooting #Kenosha pic.twitter.com/UryWLeZlT7
— War Warner (@fascistanista) August 26, 2020
There are certainly questions about why a 17-year-old had also injected himself, without parental supervision, into a scene of criminal unrest, although it turned out he was legally allowed to carry the gun. We would print Rittenhouse’s criminal history too, but he doesn’t have one; the only thing that comes up for him in Wisconsin courts is two traffic tickets (and the extradition case in Illinois.) People are spreading the criminal record of another Kyle Rittenhouse around the Internet, but that man is much older and isn’t him.
For all of these reasons, we decided not to censor the men’s criminal histories. You can decide how relevant you think they are.
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