Update 11/15/2021 12:01pm:

The Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial has been underway, and the 18-year-old accused murderer took the stand recently, going viral due to his “tears” that appeared to be forced while claiming he wasn’t looking for trouble when he traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin. The closing arguments recently began, and now it has been noted that the judge in the trial dismissed a misdemeanor gun charge against Rittenhouse.

The charge initially carried a sentence of up to 12 months, and legal experts claim that was the most straightforward charge for the state to prove. Despite that, Rittenhouse skated past the charge. The judge in the case—Bruce Schroeder, ruled that Wisconsin’s open carry law is written in a confusing manner, which means it could be interpreted that a 17-year-old could carry a gun as long as it isn’t a short barrel rifle.

As of now, Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, saying he fired off his weapon in self-defense. Rittenhouse is still facing five other charges because of the August 2020 incident. The governor of Wisconsin recently put 500 National Guard troops on standby ahead of the verdict for Rittenhouse.

source: NBC News

Original 11/10/2021 6:25pm:

Kyle Rittenhouse broke down on the witness stand during his testimony at his murder trial Wednesday. The murder suspect began to cry so hard that the judge called a break as Rittenhouse tried to gather himself.

The 18-year-old is accused of killing two protestors and wounding another during the Jacob Blake protests. During cross-examination, Rittenhouse -- who was 17 at the time of his alleged crimes -- claimed he was not looking for trouble when he traveled to Kenosha, Wis. with an assault rifle and only wanted to provide first aid and protect local establishments from vandalism and looting.

Rittenhouse said he acted in self-defense after announcing to rioters that he was only there to help. Afterward, Rittenhouse claimed Joseph Rosenbaum -- a protester who Rittenhouse said had verbally threatened him earlier -- ran towards him, while another protester, Joshua Zaminsky, approached with a gun and told Rosenbaum, "Get him -- kill him!"

He continued by stating Rosenbaum continued to run after even though he pointed his gun at him while attempting to flee. Rittenhouse said Rosenbaum eventually grabbed the barrel of his gun as someone fired a shot "directly behind me" and caused the murder suspect to shoot Rosenbaum four times.

In a state of shock, Rittenhouse attempted to help Rosenbaum before deciding to turn himself into police. He claimed "a mob" of people started chasing him as he ran towards law enforcement. Eventually, the crowd caught up to him and began assaulting him. One of those people was Anthony Huber, who Rittenhouse said hit him in the neck with a skateboard and tried confiscating his gun before he fired one fatal shot into Huber's chest.

Rittenhouse also described shooting and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, who he claimed pointed his gun at him.

Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts, including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide. He's also fighting a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon under the age of 18. He faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.

Look above to view Kyle Rittenhouse's testimony.