Associated Press

KENOSHA, WISCONSIN

The jury began deliberating Tuesday at the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse after listening to dueling portrayals of him as a "wannabe soldier" who went looking for the trouble, or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.

The case went to the anonymous, 12-member jury after Rittenhouse himself, in a highly unusual move, was allowed by the judge to draw the slips of paper from a raffle drum that determined which of the 18 people who sat in judgment during the trial would decide his fate and which ones would be dismissed as alternates.

Rittenhouse, 18, faces life in prison if convicted as charged for using a AR-style semi-automatic rifle to kill two men and wound a third during a night of protests against racial injustice in Kenosha in the summer of 2020. The former police youth cadet is white, as were those he shot.

The resulting jury appeared to be overwhelmingly white.

Rittenhouse testified he acted in self-defense after coming under attack, while prosecutors argued he instigated the bloodshed. The case has become a flashpoint in the U.S. debate over guns, protests, vigilantism and law and order.

With a verdict near, Gov. Tony Evers said that 500 National Guard members would stand ready for duty in Kenosha if needed.