Rittenhouse’s lawyers had tried to dismiss the suit, arguing that Huber’s lawyers had not properly provided him with a copy of the complaint and failed to prove that he conspired with law enforcement and others to perpetrate racial violence against protesters.
“We do not agree that Mr. Huber has made any credible claims against Kyle,” Rittenhouse’s attorney, Shane P. Martin, told The Washington Post on Thursday. “Although this ruling allows the case to continue 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 one jury has already found, Kyle’s actions that night were not illegal and were done in self-defense.
Rittenhouse appeared on the streets of Kenosha with an AR-style rifle in August 2020, saying he wanted to help protect businesses in the unrest that followed the shooting death of Jacob Blake. But during a brief confrontation, Rittenhouse shot and killed Rosenbaum, 36, and Huber, 26. He also shot and wounded the then 26-year-old Geiz Groskreitz. Rittenhouse, who claimed he acted in self-defense, faced a potential life sentence if convicted.
“[Yesterday’s] the verdict brings the Anthony family one step closer to justice for their son’s needless death,” Anand Swaminathan, an attorney representing Huber’s father, said in an email to The Post. “The trial will continue until discovery, allowing for the full disclosure of the events of that fateful and tragic evening.”
Huber’s suit names Rittenhouse, Kenosha County Sheriff David G. Betts, former Kenosha Police Chief Daniel G. Miskinis, Kenosha Acting Police Chief Eric Larsen, the city of Kenosha and Kenosha County.
Lawyers for the law enforcement and government officials being sued did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Rittenhouse’s attorneys argued he was not properly served because he does not live at the Florida residence shared by his sister, who answered the door and received court documents, and his mother.
In her ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman wrote that Huber’s attorneys had gone to great lengths to locate Rittenhouse’s permanent residence in order to serve him court documents while Rittenhouse was “knowingly aware of his whereabouts.”
Huber “engaged three professional investigators who have spent more than 100 hours searching for Rittenhouse across the country,” Adelman wrote. “In contrast, Rittenhouse is almost certainly avoiding the service.”
He also rejected the defense’s claim that Huber’s lawyers had not properly argued that Rittenhouse conspired with law enforcement on the night of the protests.
While some may find the conspiracy claim “hard to believe,” Adelman wrote, this 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 fantastical or misleading, the court must accept them as true,” Adelman wrote. “The decision as to whether the allegations are true or false is made later when all parties have had an opportunity to present their evidence.”
Mark Guarino, Kim Bellware and Mark Berman contributed to this report.
