Judge to rule on extradition of U.S. teenager in Wisconsin shootings

An Illinois judge said he would rule later on Friday on whether to extradite a teenager accused of fatally shooting two protesters and wounding a third during protests in August in Wisconsin, a spokesman for the prosecutors said. Paul Novak, a judge in Lake County, Illinois, where 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is being held, told a hearing that he would issue a written ruling by 5 p.m. CDT (2200 GMT), said Lee Filas, a spokesman for the Lake County State's Attorney.

An Illinois judge said he would rule later on Friday on whether to extradite a teenager accused of fatally shooting two protesters and wounding a third during protests in August in Wisconsin, a spokesman for the prosecutors said.

Paul Novak, a judge in Lake County, Illinois, where 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is being held, told a hearing that he would issue a written ruling by 5 p.m. CDT (2200 GMT), said Lee Filas, a spokesman for the Lake County State's Attorney. Rittenhouse's lawyers did not call any witnesses on Friday, despite indicating that they may elicit testimony from his mother and four experts, including a lawyer who specializes in self-defense cases.

In addition to arguing that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, his lawyers have alleged technical errors in the paperwork behind their client's detention in Illinois. At Friday's hearing, the Lake County state's attorney argued that the paperwork was in order and that he should be extradited to Wisconsin, Filas said.

Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and five other criminal counts related to the shootings, which occurred on Aug. 25 in Kenosha, Wisconsin during civil unrest sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse returned to his home in Antioch, Illinois after that night and was soon taken into custody in Lake County.

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