Lawyer for Kyle Rittenhouse defended another teen connected to high-profile protest
An attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings, has helped to set up a foundation to accept donations for the teen.
The donation effort comes after GoFundMe took down several fundraisers for Rittenhouse’s legal fees, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A spokesperson told the publication that they were removed for violating the terms of service, which bars funds to be used for legal defenses for certain crimes.
Lawyer L. Lin Wood told the newspaper that he helped start the foundation with “a mission to protect and defend our Constitution on many fronts.”
“Kyle’s defense is one of those fronts,” Wood continued.
Rittenhouse, 17, is accused of shooting three people, two who died, during protests in Kenosha earlier this week, the Journal Sentinel reported. Video of the shooting incident shows a white male believed to be Rittenhouse, media outlets reported. The person was seen carrying an assault rifle and opening fire on protesters.
Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, reckless homicide, attempted homicide, possession of a dangerous weapon, and reckless endangerment, CNN reported. Another attorney with the foundation, John Pierce, will lead Rittenhouse’s criminal defense, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Protests in Kenosha were sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man. Video shows a police officer firing several shots into the back of Blake as he attempted to get into his SUV Sunday afternoon. He remains in a Milwaukee hospital, where his father said his son is paralyzed from the waist down.
Who is L. Lin Wood?
Wood has represented Nicholas Sandmann, a teen who was the subject of a January 2019 viral video, Vox reported.
Sandmann attended the anti-abortion March for Life and was filmed during a confrontation with Native American elder Nathan Phillips on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial In Washington D.C., according to the publication. Phillips had been the one who approached and confronted the students.
Sandmann sued CNN and The Washington Post, among other media outlets, for defamation over the publications’ portrayal of the encounter between protesters.
“False accusers should not rest easy,” Wood tweeted in May 2019 after he took Sandmann on as a client.
In 2020, the teen settled for an undisclosed amount with The Washington Post and CNN.
Wood also represented Richard Jewell, who was a suspect in the 1996 Olympic Park bombing. Jewell was ultimately exonerated and sued The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among other media organizations, for libel, NBC News reported.
The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2011, after the newspaper refused to settle with Jewell, NBC News reported.
Wood aided Jewell in his effort to reach settlements with CNN and NBC News, The Associated Press reported.
