Rittenhouse’s lawyers had tried to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Huber’s lawyers had not duly provided him with a copy of the complaint and failed to show that he conspired with law enforcement and other individuals to inflict violence on protesters on based on their race.
“We disagree that Mr. Huber has made plausible claims against Kyle,” Shane P. Martin, a lawyer for Rittenhouse, told The Washington Post in an interview Thursday. “While this ruling allows the case to proceed for the time being, it does not change the facts. … There was simply no conspiracy between Kyle and the Kenosha police to single out Anthony Huber, and as a jury has already determined, Kyle’s actions that night were not wrongful and were taken in self-defense.”
Appearing on the streets of Kenosha in August 2020 with an AR-style rifle, Rittenhouse said he wanted to help protect businesses amid the unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake. But during brief confrontations, Rittenhouse shot and killed 36-year-old Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Huber. He also shot and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, then 26. Rittenhouse, who claimed to have acted in self-defense, could have faced life in prison if convicted.
“[Yesterday’s] ruling brings Anthony’s family one step closer to justice for their son’s needless death,” Anand Swaminathan, a lawyer representing Huber’s father, said in an email to The Post. transparency is possible in the events of that fateful and tragic evening.”
Huber’s suit names Rittenhouse, Kenosha County Sheriff David G. Beth, former Kenosha police chief Daniel G. Miskinis, acting Kenosha police chief Eric Larsen, the city of Kenosha and the county of Kenosha.
Law enforcement lawyers and government officials charged did not immediately respond to messages from The Post asking for comment.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers argued that he was not served properly because he does not live in the Florida residence where his sister, who answered the door and received the court documents, and his mother live.
In his decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman wrote that Huber’s lawyers went to great lengths to find Rittenhouse’s permanent residence in order to provide him with the court documents, while Rittenhouse was “deliberately coy about his whereabouts.”
Huber “enlisted three professional detectives who spent more than 100 hours searching for Rittenhouse across the country,” Adelman wrote. “Rittenhouse, on the other hand, is almost certainly dodging the service.”
He also rejected the defense’s claim that on the night of the protests, Huber’s lawyers failed to correctly allege that Rittenhouse was colluding with police.
While some may find the conspiracy charge “hard to believe,” Adelman wrote, now is not the time for the court to “weigh the evidence” or “decide whether the plaintiff is likely to prove his allegations.”
“As long as the facts alleged by the plaintiff are not fanciful or delusional, the court must accept them as true,” Adelman wrote. “Deciding whether the allegations are true or false will come later in the case, after all parties have had a chance to present their evidence.”
Mark Guarino, Kim Bellware and Mark Berman contributed to this report.
