Sunday, April 27, 2025
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Sunday, April 27, 2025

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Major Media Outlets Reported Kyle Rittenhouse Was Charged With Homicide Before He Was

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Multiple news media outlets, both local and national, reported that teenager Kyle Rittenhouse was criminally charged with homicide in the shooting deaths of two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin before he was.

After this story first ran, Rittenhouse was indeed charged with two counts of homicide. The charges hit the court website around 5 p.m. on Aug. 27.  The problem with the news media coverage is that multiple prominent news organizations reported that Rittenhouse had been charged on Aug. 26 and all morning on Aug. 27 – and he hadn’t been yet.

The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office said that, as of 3:30 p.m. on August 27, criminal charges had not yet been issued against Rittenhouse. “We have not issued formal charges,” a DA’s representative said. About 1.5 hours after that comment, they were filed. The DA’s office said it would provide the actual criminal complaint but hasn’t yet.

Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the online court record website, did not show any criminal charges filed in Wisconsin against Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, Illinois, until around 5 p.m.. The only cases against Rittenhouse on CCAP were two traffic cases that predate the shootings. We called the Kenosha County Clerk of Courts Office, and they said they didn’t have a criminal complaint yet against Rittenhouse earlier in the day. We contacted the District Attorney for clarification, and they said formal charges were not issued yet. That was on the afternoon of Aug. 27. That changed with the CCAP filing a little more than an hour later. (You can read the full criminal complaint here.)

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley told The Chicago Tribune that his office would “have to make some determinations about, at least preliminary decisions about charges or holding (the suspect) by the end of the day (Thursday).”

His comment also means that, when numerous news outlets were reporting that Rittenhouse had been criminally charged with homicide, prosecutors hadn’t announced any decision on that yet.

The bottom line: Multiple prominent news outlets prematurely reported that Rittenhouse was charged before he ever was.

Check out examples of some of the headlines from around the country that ran on prominent news sites before Rittenhouse was ever charged. At the time they ran, these headlines were false.

Kyle rittenhouse charged
Journal sentinel headline

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Aug. 27 before charges were filed): After teen is charged with killing 2 at protests over Jacob Blake shooting, turmoil in Kenosha spreads and reaches new heights”

New York Post (Aug. 26): “Illinois teen Kyle Rittenhouse charged in fatal shooting of two Kenosha protesters”

Daily Beast (Aug. 27 before charges were filed): “17-Year-Old ‘Blue Lives Matter’ Fanatic Charged With Murder at Kenosha Protest”

Insider.com (Aug. 27 before charges were filed): “Kyle Rittenhouse — the teen charged with first-degree homicide over the shooting of 3 people at Kenosha protests — was obsessed with Blue Lives Matter and appeared ‘on edge’ before shots rang out.”

Al-Jazeera: (Aug. 27 before charges were filed) “Teenager Kyle Rittenhouse arrested, charged for Kenosha shootings”

Washington Post (Aug. 26): “17-year-old charged with homicide after shooting during Kenosha protests, authorities say”

Los Angeles Times (Aug. 26): “Teen charged in Kenosha killings, Kyle Rittenhouse, praised police”


An Extradition Document From Illinois Caused the Confusion

Kyle rittenhouse charged

The confusion appears to have stemmed from an extradition ticket in Illinois. We’ve obtained that ticket. See it above.

The Journal Sentinel story correctly said that the document indicated Rittenhouse “faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge in Kenosha County.” But the newspaper’s headline went much further and said he was actually charged with killing two people before that decision came down.

The fugitive from justice case includes a ticket from Antioch Police that says:

“Said defendant after having been charged in Kenosha County State of Wisconsin with the offense of first-degree intentional homicide in violation of Wisconsin statute…fled the state of Wisconsin with intent to avoid prosecution for that offense.”

A police referral isn’t a criminal charge. The District Attorney’s Office makes the ultimate decision in Wisconsin on whether to charge Rittenhouse with homicide.

Rittenhouse is accused of shooting and killing two people during a chaotic sequence of events that unfolded after demonstrations. He was there to protect people and property and was seen protecting a car dealership and cleaning up graffiti. The shootings occurred in two chaotic situations. The New York Times has run a detailed chronology of what happened. They say the first shooting occurred when someone else fired a gunshot.

A group of unknown people was chasing Rittenhouse for unknown reasons near a car dealership he had been protecting earlier. “While Mr. Rittenhouse is being pursued by the group, an unknown gunman fires into the air, though it’s unclear why. The weapon’s muzzle flash appears in footage filmed at the scene,” the Times wrote. At that time, Rittenhouse “turns toward the sound of gunfire as another pursuer lunges toward him from the same direction. Mr. Rittenhouse then fires four times, and appears to shoot the man in the head,” according to The Times.

Rittenhouse made a phone call and then started running. Others gave chase and he tripped and fell, videos show. The Tribune says a voice on the video says, “I just killed somebody.”

In the second shooting, Rittenhouse opened fire while being rushed by three people, one with a handgun, after he tripped, the Times reported. Photos show him being hit with a skateboard. Three people were wounded and two of them died.

Editor’s note: We updated this story after the charges were filed to explain they had just been filed.

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Trump Expands Gulf of America Oil & Natural Gas Production

Reversing Biden administration policies that halted offshore leasing, prompting lawsuits and restricting oil and natural gas development, the Trump administration is expanding offshore capabilities.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the administration’s first offshore lease sales in the Gulf of America, with the first proposed notice of sale slated for June.

“By continuing to expand offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, strengthens domestic industry and reinforces its role as an energy superpower,” the Interior Department says. “Opening the Outer Continental Shelf is central to this strategy as it unleashes domestic energy potential that had been blocked under the previous administration,” and is expected to generate tens of thousands of high-paying jobs throughout the industry.

The BOEM also released a new analysis stating that a significant increase of estimated oil and natural gas reserves exists in the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM’s updated assessment evaluated more than 140 oil and natural gas fields, identifying 18 new discoveries, and analyzed more than 37,000 reservoirs across 1,336 fields in the Gulf.

It says there’s an “additional 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2021, bringing the total reserve estimate to 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This includes 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – a 22.6% increase in remaining recoverable reserves.”

“This new data confirms what we’ve known all along – America is sitting on a treasure trove of energy, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re unlocking it,” Burgum said. “The Gulf of America is a powerhouse, and by streamlining permitting and expanding access, we’re not just powering our economy – we’re strengthening our national security and putting thousands of Americans back to work.”

The comprehensive review added 4.39 billion barrels of oil equivalent in original reserves, BOEM found. “After subtracting production of 3.09 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2020–2021, the net increase reflects continued opportunity and momentum in offshore development,” it says.

“The Gulf of America is delivering 14% of the nation’s oil,” BOEM Gulf of America Regional Director Dr. James Kendall said. “These updated estimates reaffirm the Gulf’s vital role in ensuring a reliable, affordable domestic energy supply.”

The BOEM oversees nearly 3.2 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, with roughly 160 million acres located in the Gulf.

“Energy dominance is a pillar of U.S. economic strength and global leadership,” the Interior Department argues. “By expanding offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, creates high-paying jobs, and reduces dependence on foreign adversaries. … Expanded leasing is projected to create tens of thousands of jobs across exploration, production, logistics and supply chains — revitalizing coastal economies and fueling American innovation.”

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, also announced it is beginning production at Dover, a second subsea tieback connecting new wells to existing infrastructure of its Appomattox production hub in the Gulf of America. Dover’s estimated peak production is 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, it says.

Shell is the leading deep-water operator in the Gulf of America; Dover was discovered under the first Trump administration in 2018.

It’s located in Mississippi Canyon, roughly 170 miles offshore southeast of New Orleans.

Shell estimates that Dover will “contain 44.5 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources, adding stable, secure energy resources.”

Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities have generated billions of dollars in revenue from lease sales, rental fees and royalties to the federal government and states, helping to fund infrastructure, education and public services and wildlife conservation. They also help strengthen U.S. energy independence, national security and global stability, by reducing reliance on foreign producers, the Trump administration argues.

Offshore production in the Gulf of America accounts for the third greatest volume in the country, of nearly 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, according to Energy Information Agency data from January. The greatest volume is produced in the Permian Basin in west Texas, which leads the U.S. in oil and natural gas production, The Center Square reported.

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