Furious Kyle Rittenhouse brands ADA Binger a ‘corrupt person’ out for himself

Gun Rights

‘It’s sickening’: Furious Kyle Rittenhouse brands ADA Binger a ‘corrupt person’ out for himself who ‘wanted to lie and put me in prison for defending myself’

  • Kyle Rittenhouse hit out at Thomas Binger, the Kenosha prosecutor in his trial 
  • He called Binger a ‘corrupt person’ who ‘just wants to make a name for himself’ 
  • Former President Donald Trump also blasted ‘prosecutorial misconduct’ 
  • Trump revealed Rittenhouse visited him on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort 
  • Rittenhouse comments on Binger were made in interview with Tucker Carlson 
  • He said Binger tried to put him in prison even though he knew he was innocent 








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Kyle Rittenhouse hit out at the prosecutor who failed to win a conviction in his murder trial in Kenosha last week, branding him a ‘corrupt person who just wants to make a name for himself and not look at the facts.’

‘I used to be a fan of the prosecutors [but] not anymore,’ the acquitted Kenosha shooter told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Tuesday when asked about Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger.

‘I believe there are still good prosecuting attorneys out there. But he is the prosecuting attorney that wants to make a name for himself and he’s supposed to speak the truth and nothing but the truth.’

DailyMail.com has reached out to Binger seeking comment.

Rittenhouse was 17 last year when he traveled 20 miles from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which had been racked with protests in the wake of the August 23, 2020 shooting of Jacob Blake.

Kyle Rittenhouse hit out at the prosecutor who failed to win a conviction in his murder trial in Kenosha last week, branding him a ‘corrupt person who just wants to make a name for himself and not look at the facts.’

Kyle Rittenhouse hit out at the prosecutor who failed to win a conviction in his murder trial in Kenosha last week, branding him a ‘corrupt person who just wants to make a name for himself and not look at the facts.’

‘I used to be a fan of the prosecutors [but] not anymore,’ the acquitted Kenosha shooter told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Tuesday when asked about Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger (seen above during the state's closing argument in the Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha on November 15)

‘I used to be a fan of the prosecutors [but] not anymore,’ the acquitted Kenosha shooter told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Tuesday when asked about Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger (seen above during the state’s closing argument in the Rittenhouse trial in Kenosha on November 15)

Rittenhouse was 17 last year when he traveled 20 miles from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which had been racked with protests in the wake of the August 23, 2020, shooting of Jacob Blake

Rittenhouse was 17 last year when he traveled 20 miles from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which had been racked with protests in the wake of the August 23, 2020, shooting of Jacob Blake

That shooting and the response in Kenosha – protests that turned destructive – became part of the national reckoning over police use of force against Black people following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis the previous May at the hands of police.

Rittenhouse, armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle, joined others who said they were intent on protecting private property from potential damage on August 25.

During his trial, prosecutors argued that the teenager was a ‘wannabe soldier’ who went looking for trouble that night.

Rittenhouse countered that he fired in self-defense after he was attacked and in fear for his life.

Donald Trump met Kyle Rittenhouse on Tuesday, with the teenager traveling from his Illinois home to Florida ahead of an interview at the weekend with Tucker Carlson

Donald Trump met Kyle Rittenhouse on Tuesday, with the teenager traveling from his Illinois home to Florida ahead of an interview at the weekend with Tucker Carlson

Kyle Rittenhouse went to visit Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, the former president said

Kyle Rittenhouse went to visit Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, the former president said

Kyle Rittenhouse on Monday night accused Joe Biden of defamation, saying he acted with 'malice' and his lawyers were contemplating suing

Kyle Rittenhouse on Monday night accused Joe Biden of defamation, saying he acted with ‘malice’ and his lawyers were contemplating suing

Ass’t DA Thomas Binger locked horns with Judge from the get-go

Thomas Binger (seen above during closing arguments in Kenosha on November 15) was widely criticized for his handling of the prosecution of Kyle Rittenhouse

Thomas Binger (seen above during closing arguments in Kenosha on November 15) was widely criticized for his handling of the prosecution of Kyle Rittenhouse 

Thomas Binger is a seven-year veteran at the law office run by Kenosha County’s top prosecutor, Michael Graveley. 

Graveley did not personally handling the high-profile Rittenhouse case because he was tasked with the investigation into the police shooting of Jacob Blake at the time Rittenhouse was charged. It was Blake’s shooting on August 23 that sparked the Kenosha riots. 

Binger and Judge Bruce Schroeder, who sits on Kenosha County Circuit Court, clashed frequently in the run-up to the trial, and the proceedings were as explosive as expected. 

Schroeder, who at 75 is the longest-serving active circuit judge in Wisconsin, has the reputation of being a stern judge who often hands down tough sentences. 

The website Wisconsin Right Now described his approach as ‘bizarre’, saying that he frequently made moves that seemed to help the defense in their argument that the teenager acted in self-defense – such as discussing the chaos engulfing Rittenhouse as he opened fire, showing videos of violent protest, and leading Rittenhouse to say that he wanted to help people. 

Binger graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996 and became a criminal prosecutor at the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office in 1999, where he eventually rose to the rank of assistant district attorney. 

He went on to work for the DeMark, Kolbe & Brodek law firm as director of litigation in 2005 before joining the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office in 2014. 

In 2016, Binger ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the district attorney’s seat in Racine County, telling the Journal Times: ‘In the last two years as a prosecutor, I have won 13 jury trials. I have convicted murderers, rapists, child molesters, drug dealers, drunk drivers, home-invading burglars and men who abuse women.’

He is married to Nicole Gustafson-Binger, a mental health counselor for Oakwood Clinical Associates. They have three children.  

In the lead up to the Rittenhouse murder trial, Binger lost the chance to link Rittenhouse to the Proud Boys extremist group. 

He was later strongly criticized by Judge Schroeder, in pre-trial hearings, after arguing that defense lawyers should not be able to tell jurors about Joseph Rosenbaum’s destructive actions during the riot, including setting a dumpster on fire. 

‘All we’re talking about is arson. We’re talking about being loud and disorderly,’ Binger said.

Schroeder cut him off and raised his voice.

‘I can’t believe some of what you’re saying,’ he said. ‘All we’re talking about is arson? Come on!’

Schroeder during the trial reprimanded Binger for bringing up information that had previously been barred from the court about Rittenhouse’s history with an AR-15 rifle. An incident was caught on video two weeks prior to the shootings in which Rittenhouse talked about shooting men he believed were shoplifting at a pharmacy.

Schroeder had already ruled video inadmissible. 

‘You’re an experienced trial attorney and you’re telling me when the judge says, ‘I’m excluding this’ you decide to bring it in because you think you’ve found a way around it,’ Schroeder asked. ‘Come on!’

Binger replied: ‘You can yell at me if you want. I was acting in good faith.’ 

Judge Schroeder responded: ‘I don’t believe you. When you say you were acting in good faith, I don’t believe you. There better not be another incident.’

Rittenhouse’s defense accused Binger of knowingly attempting to throw the proceeding because they were going badly for the state.

The defense on November 10 demanded a mistrial with prejudice, which would mean that Rittenhouse walks free and a retrial is not possible – a disaster for the prosecution. 

Binger was heavily ridiculed online after he pointed an AR-15 at the jury during closing arguments.

At one point during the argument, Binger moved to ‘re-enact’ what he claimed was visible on blurry drone footage, controversially brought before the jury.

According to Binger, Rittenhouse can be seen placing down the fire extinguisher he was carrying, pausing and raising his gun – pointing it at an unseen person off screen.

The moment was heavily ridiculed online, with many people comparing it to Alec Baldwin fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last month

The moment was heavily ridiculed online, with many people comparing it to Alec Baldwin fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last month

Binger, holding Rittenhouse’s AR-15 aloft, as he spoke, pointed it to the corner of the court.

This, he said, was the moment Rittenhouse ‘lost the right to self-defense’ and ‘provoked’ the violence that followed.

But that moment was heavily criticized online, as Binger apparently broke the first rule of gun safety.

According to the National Rifle Association, gun users should ‘Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction, always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot [and] always keep the gun unloaded’ until the owner is ready to use it.

‘I’ve only been to a gun range once my whole life,’ Dave Ramos tweeted after Binger pointed the gun with his finger on the trigger. ‘First thing you’re taught is you do NOT point a gun loaded or unloaded at anything you do not intend to destroy especially another person.

‘Binger’s not only breaking the first rule of gun safety but also pointing it at the jury.’

Others made light of the situation, comparing Binger pointing the weapon at the jury to actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust last month.

Baldwin was reportedly told it was not loaded when he aimed the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal and fired.

Elijah Schaffer, a host of Blaze TV, wrote: ‘Rittenhouse prosecution DA points a gun at the jury, finger on the trigger, to give an example of what it looks like working with Alec Baldwin on a movie set.’

Benny Johnson, a columnist and podcast host, also wrote that ‘Alec Baldwin would be proud,’ and Jack Posobiec, the senior editor of Human Events, tweeted: ‘Alec Baldwin, Thomas Binger. Do not trust liberals around guns.’

Stephen L. Miller, meanwhile, joked: ‘Your honor, the prosecution calls Alec Baldwin to the stand.’

And another user wrote that ‘Binger is a recent graduate from the Alec Baldwin School of Firearm Safety.’

The incident was just one moment of Binger’s lengthy closing arguments in which he tried to portray Rittenhouse as a teenager looking for the ‘thrill’ of telling people what to do, ‘running around with an AR-15’ with ‘neither the honor nor the legal right to do so.’

‘These guys with the AR-15s are just wannabe soldiers acting tough, trying to manufacture some personal connection to this event, furthering their own personal agenda,’ Binger argued, ‘just a small part of the deluge of chaos tourists we saw here in Kenosha trying to feed off of what we were going through, despite everything we did to try and tell them, go away, stay out.’

He focused largely on Rittenhouse’s actions that night, trying to counter Rittenhouse’s assertions that Rosenbaum was causing trouble all night, swinging a chain, demanding people shoot him, spewing racial slurs and setting fires.

He described Rosenbaum as a small man, at 5-foot-4, with a ‘Napoleon complex,’ but was harmless.

‘Oh, let me tell you all the awful things Joseph Rosenbaum did,’ the prosecutor said.

‘He tipped over a Port-a-Potty that had no one in it. He swung a chain. He lit a . . . Dumpster on fire . . . Oh, and he said some bad words. He said the N-word,’ Binger claimed.

‘If he were alive today . . . I’d probably try and prosecute him for arson. But I can’t because the defendant killed him.

‘But that’s the way we deal with people that do these things. When you commit arson, we prosecute you. We don’t execute you in the street.’

Mark Richards, the attorney representing Rittenhouse in the trial, meanwhile, claimed Rosenbaum was ‘irrational and crazy.’

He said Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse down until he had him cornered. If Rosenbaum had taken Rittenhouse’s gun from him he would have shot others, Richards said.

‘Mr. Rosenbaum made a fatal mistake that day, chasing Kyle Rittenhouse into the corner,’ Richards argued.

‘He ran as far as he could, and he shot, four times in three-quarters of a second

‘I’m glad [Rittenhouse] shot him because if Joseph Rosenbaum got that gun I don’t for a minute believe he wouldn’t have used it against somebody else,’ he added. ‘Mr. Rosenbaum was hell-bent on causing trouble that night.’

In his argument, Richards argued that the state’s witnesses actually helped Rittenhouse’s case, pointing out that a police detective seemed to agree that Rosenbaum came out of hiding to chase Rittenhouse; a forensic pathologist testified that Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum at close range, within four feet, and bolstering the defense argument that Rosenbaum reached for Rittenhouse’s rifle; and others in Rittenhouse’s group testified they had permission to guard the car dealership.    

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A jury last Friday found Rittenhouse not guilty on charges of homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangering in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz, now 28.  

According to Rittenhouse, Binger knew he was innocent, yet still tried to secure a conviction that could have resulted in a life sentence for the 18-year-old Antioch, Illinois, teen.

Kyle Rittenhouse

John Pierce

Kyle Rittenhouse (left) says that he did not know he was posing with members of the far-right group Proud Boys and that he had no idea the hand gesture he was making symbolized white supremacy as he blamed former attorney John Pierce (right) for the mishap

Rittenhouse insists he didn’t know the meaning of the ‘okay’ hand gesture, which he made as he was photographed standing alongside members of the Proud Boys at a bar in Wisconsin on January 5.

Rittenhouse insists he didn’t know the meaning of the ‘okay’ hand gesture, which he made as he was photographed standing alongside members of the Proud Boys at a bar in Wisconsin on January 5.

John Pierce

Lin Wood

Rittenhouse says John Pierce (left) and Lin Wood (right), two former attorneys for Rittenhouse who formed a charity that helped raise money toward his bond and legal defense, were responsible for arranging the meeting with Proud Boys in the Wisconsin bar. The two attorneys are reportedly demanding they be repaid their portion of the cash raised toward bail

‘But he decided he wanted to lie and try to put me in prison for the rest of my life for defending myself,’ Rittenhouse said.

‘It’s sickening because this is a case that has nothing to do with politics, but politics was brought into it for people’s own agenda.’

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday also lashed out at Binger.

Trump said Rittenhouse should never have been brought to trial, insisting that he acted in self-defense. 

‘That was prosecutorial misconduct,’ said Trump.

Trump revealed to Fox News on Tuesday that he hosted Rittenhouse and his family at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.

Rittenhouse, who was acquitted on Friday by a Wisconsin court over the August 2020 shooting of two protesters in Kenosha, was in Florida on Sunday for an interview with Carlson, which aired Monday.

The snippet that included comments about Binger aired on Tuesday. 

Rittenhouse told Carlson he had previously been considering leaving his Illinois home and living in Naples, Florida, but was now unsure where he would be based.

Rittenhouse, 18, collapsed in tears as the jury in his double murder trial acquitted him of all charges after four torturous days of deliberation and weeks of testimony

Rittenhouse, 18, collapsed in tears as the jury in his double murder trial acquitted him of all charges after four torturous days of deliberation and weeks of testimony

On Tuesday, he was meeting Trump, and the former president later told Sean Hannity that the teenager was ‘a fan’ of his.

‘Kyle called. He wanted to know if he could come over, because he’s a fan,’ Trump said on Fox News Channel on Tuesday night.   

Earlier on Tuesday, Rittenhouse also had harsh words for his former defense attorneys – John Pierce and Lin Wood. 

Rittenhouse told Ashleigh Banfield of NewsNation that he did not know he was posing with members of the far-right group Proud Boys and that he had no idea the hand gesture he was making symbolized white supremacy.

He blamed former attorney Pierce for the mishap, saying that he ‘set up’ and ‘arranged’ the meeting with the Proud Boys.

Rittenhouse insists he didn’t know the meaning of the ‘okay’ hand gesture, which he made as he was photographed standing alongside members of the Proud Boys at a bar in Wisconsin on January 5. 

‘I didn’t know that the “okay” hand sign was a symbol for white supremacy – just as I didn’t know those people in the bar were Proud Boys,’ Rittenhouse says.

The Illinois teen who was acquitted in the fatal shootings of two men and the wounding of a third during the Kenosha riots in August of last year says it was Pierce who set up the picture.

The meetings ‘were set up by my former attorney who was fired because of that, for putting me in situations like that with people I don’t agree with,’ Rittenhouse told Ashleigh Banfield of NewsNation.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Pierce seeking comment in response to Rittenhouse’s claims. 

Kenosha prosecutors wanted to use the photo during the trial, but the judge excluded it. 

Clearly disappointed, prosecutor Thomas Binger, who has been heavily criticized for his actions during the case, sat back in his chair, looked at the ceiling, and issued a sigh as the verdict came in

Clearly disappointed, prosecutor Thomas Binger, who has been heavily criticized for his actions during the case, sat back in his chair, looked at the ceiling, and issued a sigh as the verdict came in 

Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (pictured), 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020

Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber (pictured), 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin

Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (left), 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020. Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber (right), 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin

Prosecutors attempted to portray Rittenhouse as a white supremacist who was motivated to shoot supporters of Black Lives Matter.

Rittenhouse is seen in the photo making the ‘okay’ sign at Pudgy’s Pub in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, which is about 15 miles northwest of Kenosha.

‘I found out they were Proud Boys when I saw the headlines,’ Rittenhouse told NewsNation.

‘I thought they were just a bunch of, like, construction dudes based on how they looked.’

Rittenhouse said that Pierce and another one of his ex-attorneys, Lin Wood, raised the possibility of having the Proud Boys provide security, but that idea was quashed because the Illinois teen didn’t ‘want anything to do with them.’

DailyMail.com has reached out to Wood seeking comment. 

Rittenhouse said Wood, a prominent defamation lawyer from Atlanta who is known as a fierce supporter of Donald Trump, was ‘insane.’

Rittenhouse said he fired Wood partly due to the lawyer’s belief in QAnon conspiracy theories.

‘[Wood] thinks he’s God,’ Rittenhouse said.

‘And he just says all these weird things like, “We’re going to keep that boy in jail, because there’s not going to be any civil or criminal cases come the election,” which is just complete insanity.’

Rittenhouse told Banfield that he was ‘considering changing my name.’

He also joked that he might grow a beard and lose weight in order so that people won’t recognize him.

‘I gained [the weight] back during this stressful time,’ he said. 

When asked if he had any regret about what happened, Rittenhouse said that he does regret being in that situation, though he does not regret exercising self-defense.

‘I regret going there, I don’t regret defending myself,’ Rittenhouse told NewsNation.

‘I regret making the decision to go there but…what I’m trying to say is, if I could go back I would not have gone there.’ 

During a Fox News interview on Monday, Rittenhouse hit out at his former attorneys for raising money for themselves while letting him rot in jail for 87 days. 

Rittenhouse, who sat down with Tucker Carlson (left) for first interview since acquittal on Monday, ripped his former lawyers for trying to profit off his name as legal fight brews over his $2 million bail

Rittenhouse, who sat down with Tucker Carlson (left) for first interview since acquittal on Monday, ripped his former lawyers for trying to profit off his name as legal fight brews over his $2 million bail

Rittenhouse’s lawyers are also locked in a legal dispute with Wood and Pierce as they seek to have his $2 million bail returned to their acquitted client. 

Rittenhouse told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that Wood and Pierce raised money on his behalf after he was jailed for the shootings.

But he said that while the lawyers had raised enough bail money by mid-September, they chose not to post his bail because they wanted to use him for their own cause.

‘I was in jail for 87 days,’ Rittenhouse told Carlson on Monday in his first interview since being acquitted. 

‘Lin Wood was raising money on my behalf, and he held me in jail for 87 days, disrespecting my wishes, put me on media interviews which I should never have done, which he said, “Oh, you’re going to go talk to The Washington Post,” which was not a good idea, along with John Pierce.’ 

‘They said I was safer in jail instead of at home with my family.’

Carlson responded: ‘Eight-seven days is a long time to be in jail.’  

‘It was very long,’ said Rittenhouse. 

‘I lost a lot of weight in there. But 87 days of not being with my family for defending myself and being taken advantage of, being used for a cause by these–by John Pierce and Lin Wood… trying to raise money so they can take it for their own benefit, not trying to set me free.’ 

Wood and Pierce, who helped raise the bond money to get Rittenhouse released from jail via their #FightBack foundation after his arrest, want their foundation’s cash back, but the 18-year-old Antioch, Illinois, resident’s family is refusing.    

Mark Richards, the criminal defense lawyer who won Rittenhouse’s freedom,  immediately filed to have the $2 million returned to his client a lawsuit after Friday’s not guilty verdict.

‘I suspect there will be a fight over that,’ Richards told Kenosha News.

‘John Pierce is the person who posted the bond. All that money was raised on behalf of Kyle.

Rittenhouse's lead attorney Mark Richards has also been critical of Wood, calling him an 'idiot'

Rittenhouse’s lead attorney Mark Richards has also been critical of Wood, calling him an ‘idiot’

‘Lin Wood and FightBack say they are entitled to it.’

Richards added: ‘There was half a million dollars I think that came directly from [Kyle’s mother] Wendy Rittenhouse from money she raised.

‘So there’s going to be a fight over that, and I’m just thankful there will be a fight over it.’ 

Rittenhouse was asked if Wood and Pierce simply chose to not raise his bail money faster for their own benefit. 

‘I believe – sometime in September, September 5, I want to say – they had over a million dollars, and bail was set and able to be posted in September. So they could’ve had me sign the waiver for extradition and had me back in Wisconsin, and I could have been bailed out by mid-September. But they wanted to keep me in jail until November 20.’ 

Rittenhouse’s new team has previously been critical of the two. Richards even called Wood an ‘idiot.’

Wood has since threatened to sue Richards.  

Pierce, of the Los Angeles-based law firm Pierce Bainbridge, represented Rittenhouse at the time that his firm wrote a $2 million check springing him from jail in late November 2020.

Pierce was brought on to the Rittenhouse legal team by Wood. Together, they formed a nonprofit called the #FightBack Foundation. 

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell

Ricky Schroder

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell (left) and former child actor Ricky Schroder (right) have also made donations toward Rittenhouse’s legal fund

Schroder is seen far left alongside Rittenhouse and his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse

Schroder is seen far left alongside Rittenhouse and his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse

Using the social media hashtag #FightBack, they managed to raise around $2million, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Wood then left the Rittenhouse legal team in order to help then-President Donald Trump contest the election results in court.

The Rittenhouse family then fired Pierce in February. The family has accused both Lin and Pierce of diverting money meant to help Rittenhouse.

By law, bond should be returned to whoever posted it after the trial is over. In this case, it appears to be Pierce’s law firm.

But Wood claims that his #FightBack Foundation is the one that raised the money and thus should get the cash.

Former child actor Ricky Schroder and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell have also been credited with making donations toward Rittenhouse’s legal fund.

Rittenhouse also criticized the two for saying he was in an ‘unorganized militia’ upon the teen’s release from jail. 

‘John Pierce said that and it’s blatantly false,’ he replied. ‘I didn’t know militia was until after the fact, until November 25, when I was watching some of the interviews he did. I’m like, I’m not in a militia. I don’t know what that is.’    

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