MTN - ST Modify Conditions of Bond - 1 - Rittenhouse, Kyle H
MTN - ST Modify Conditions of Bond - 1 - Rittenhouse, Kyle H
MTN - ST Modify Conditions of Bond - 1 - Rittenhouse, Kyle H
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the State of Wisconsin, by Assistant District Attorney
Jason R. Zapf and Assistant District Attorney Thomas C. Binger, will hereby move the Court,
the Honorable Bruce E. Schroeder presiding, on the __________ day of ___________, 2021,
at ___:___ a.m. / p.m., to modify the conditions of bond in the above-captioned matter.
Specifically, the State respectfully requests the addition of the following conditions of bond:
2. The defendant shall not be present in any establishment where alcohol is served.
3. The defendant shall be prohibited from making any public display of any “white power”
or “white supremacy” signs, symbols, or hand gestures.
4. The defendant shall have no contact with any known militia members or known
members of any violent white power/white supremacist groups or organizations,
including but not limited to the group identified as the “Proud Boys.”
The State brings this motion pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 969.01(1), 969.03(1), 969.03(1)(b), and
969.01(e) and State v. Braun, 152 Wis.2d 500, 515, 449 N.W.2d 851 (Ct. App. 1989).
Factual Background
approximately 1:00 p.m. on January 5, 2021, before Court Commissioner Loren Keating.
Approximately 90 minutes later, the defendant, along with his mother Wendy Rittenhouse and
several other adults, arrived at Pudgy’s Pub, a bar located at 7800 Washington Avenue in
Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Local law enforcement was later notified of the defendant’s
presence in the bar, and surveillance video and still footage of the visit was later retrieved and
reviewed.
The defendant was present at the bar with his mother and several other adults for
wearing a t-shirt that read “Free as F*ck”. Id., ¶ 6. Immediately upon arriving at the bar, the
defendant posed for photographs with two other adult males in his group. Id., ¶ 3. In these
photographs, the defendant and the other adult males flashed the “OK” sign, which has been
co-opted as a sign of “white power” by known white supremacist groups. Id., ¶ 3. The
defendant then entered the bar and was immediately and directly served a beer by the
bartender. Id., ¶ 4. The defendant consumed a total of 3 beers in the 90 minute period that he
Within a few minutes of entering the bar, the defendant was loudly serenaded by 5 of
the adult males in his group with the song “Proud of Your Boy”, which is an obscure song
written for the 1992 Disney film “Aladdin”. Id., ¶ 5. The violent white supremacist group called
the “Proud Boys” was named after this song, which is sung by its members as an anthem and
for self-identification. The defendant later posed for several photographs with these adults in
the bar. Id., ¶ 6. In each of these photographs, the defendant and the other adults flashed the
“OK” sign used by known white supremacists. Id., ¶ 6. The defendant then remained with
these “Proud Boys” for the entire time he was in the bar.
Wis. Stat. § 969.01 states that a defendant “is eligible for release under reasonable
conditions designed to assure his or her appearance in court, protect members of the
community from serious bodily harm, or prevent intimidation of witnesses.” A defendant
charged with a felony may face specific restrictions, including “restrictions on the travel,
association or place of abode of the defendant during the period of release.” Wis. Stat. §
969.03. A defendant who is charged, as this one is, with First Degree Intentional Homicide
may even be denied pre-trial release if certain conditions are met. Wis. Stat. § 969.035(2).
The defendant in this case was released after $2 million was posted for him by Attorney John
Pierce. This money was raised by an internet funding campaign. Upon information and belief,
neither the defendant nor his family have any financial stake in the defendant’s bond.
law, it is a Class A Misdemeanor for anyone under the age of 21 to possess or consume
alcohol in a public place. 235 ILCS 5/6-16. In Wisconsin, however, an 18 year old may
consume alcohol in a bar as long as he is accompanied by his parent. Wis. Stat. § 125.07(4).
The State requests that the defendant be prohibited from possessing or consuming
alcohol or being present in bars and taverns. The defendant just turned 18 years old, and was
17 at the time of the offenses. The defendant is charged with multiple violent felony offenses,
including the most serious criminal offense in the Wisconsin statutes. The State of Wisconsin
prohibits those under the age of 21 from possessing or consuming alcohol (with some limited
exceptions) because underage drinkers are not mature enough to handle alcohol responsibly.
Furthermore, the consumption of alcohol increases the likelihood of violent criminal acts. The
use of alcohol “increases aggression by causing changes within the person that increase the
probability of aggression (e.g., by reducing intellectual functioning).”1 More recent studies show
that the “drinking level of the population is an important predictor of violence-related mortality,
1
“Effects of alcohol on human aggression. Validity of proposed explanations.” B.J. Bushman.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9122497/, 1997.
particularly in cultures with intoxication-oriented drinking patterns,” and that a reduction in
The Proud Boys is a national, male-only organization operating in the United States and
Canada that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and
the Anti-Defamation League3. Currently, Canada is considering designating the Proud Boys as
a terrorist organization4. The Proud Boys organization was founded in 2016 by Gavin
McInnes5. The group, initially through McInnes, has advocated violence, stating violence “is a
really effective way to solve problems” and “we don’t start fights…but we will finish them.”678
The Proud Boys have been involved in several extremist rallies and movements, and multiple
Proud Boys members have been arrested for various assaultive crimes.9 Indeed, members of
the Proud Boys group have been tied to the breach of the United States Capitol Building on
January 6, 2021 and at least one of their leaders has been arrested and charged in connection
2
“The Relationship between Alcohol and Violence – Population, Contextual and Individual Research Approaches.” Kathryn
Graham and Michael Livingston. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3170096. 2011.
3
“Proud Boys’ back in Canada military after crashing indigenous ceremony.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-
us-canada-41116175, 2017; “Who are the Proud Boys? Far-right group has concerned experts for years.” USA Today.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/30/who-proud-boys-group-mentioned-debate-has-violent-
history/5868406002/ , 2020; “Far-Right Group That Trades in Political Violence Gets a Boost.” The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/us/proud-boys-trump.html , 2020; “Proud Boys.” Southern Poverty Law Center.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys; “Proud Boys.” Anti-Defamation League.
https://www.adl.org/proudboys.
4
“Canada considers adding Proud Boys to terrorist list alongside Isis and al-Qaida.” The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/11/canada-considers-adding-proud-boys-terrorist-list-alongside-isis-al-qaida ,
2021.
5
“The Proud Boys, the bizarre far-right street fighters behind violence in New York, explained.” Vox.
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/15/17978358/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes-manhattan-gop-violence , 2018.
6
Id .
7
“NYPD Looks to Charge 9 Proud Boys with Assault for Manhattan Fight.” The Daily Beast.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/nypd-looks-to-charge-9-proud-boys-with-assault-for-manhattan-fight , 2018.
8
“Proud Boys Founder: How He Went From Brooklyn Hipster to Far-Right Provocateur.” The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/nyregion/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes.html , 2018.
9
“Swiping Right: The Allure of Hyper Masculinity and Cryptofascism for Men Who Join the Proud Boys.” Samantha Kutner
– International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep25259.pdf , 2020.
10
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/533579-most-of-120-arrested-or-identified-at-capitol-riot-were-longtime-trump;
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/several-well-known-hate-groups-identified-at-capitol-riot/;
https://abc7news.com/proud-boys-hawaii-founder-arrested-nichola-ochs-us-capitol-siege-leader-honolulu/9529917/
The Proud Boys is organized in local branches and chapters throughout North
America.11 Membership in the Proud Boys requires a four step, gang-like initiation process.
The first stage is taking a loyalty oath, stating “I’m a proud Western chauvinist, I refuse to
apologize for creating the modern world.” Second, the applicant is repeatedly punched until
they correctly answer pop culture trivia. The third stage is getting a Proud Boys tattoo. The
fourth and final stage is committing an act of violence “for the cause.”12
The Proud Boys are often seen wearing clothing with the Proud Boys slogan in yellow
and black, along with a symbol of a rooster on a weather vane facing west with the words “The
West is the Best.”13 Additionally, some Proud Boys associated apparel displays “6MWE” (an
The name Proud Boys comes from the song “Proud of Your Boy,” originally written by
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken for the 1992 Disney film Aladdin.15 While not included in
the movie, the song was included in the stage musical adaptation beginning in 2011.16 Proud
Boys founder McInnes stated he became aware of the song in 2015 while at his daughter’s
recital. Misinterpreting the meaning of the song, McInnes believed it was a song about a “boy
apologizing for being a boy, when actually we should let boys be boys.” McInnes named his
11
“Proud Boys.” Anti-Defamation League. https://www.adl.org/proudboys.
12
“Your Handy Field Guide to the Many Factions of the Far Right, From the Proud Boys to Identity Evropa.” Wired
Magazine. https://www.wired.com/2017/05/field-guide-far-right/, 2017; “New ‘Fight Club’ Ready for Street Violence.”
Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/04/25/new-fight-club-ready-street-violence , 2017.
13
“Fred Perry stops selling polo shirt associated with the ‘Proud Boys.’” CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/28/business/fred-perry-proud-boys-intl-scli-gbr/index.html , 2020; “Who Are The Proud Boys,
The Group Behind The Controversial Portland Rally?” Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/09/26/who-are-the-proud-boys-the-group-planning-a-controversial-
portland-rally/?sh=502fd75e654a , 2020; “The FBI has officially declared the ‘Proud Boys,’ a far-right ‘Western chauvinist’
group with a penchant for street fights, as ‘extremist.’” Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/proud-boys-
extremist-group-fbi-2018-11 , 2018.
14
“White, male and millennial: Hate groups tap bro culture to recruit members.” Center for Public Integrity.
https://publicintegrity.org/politics/white-male-and-millennial-hate-groups-tap-bro-culture-to-recruit-members/ , 2020; “Is
6MWE an Anti-Semitic Proud Boys Slogan?” Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/proud-boy-6mwe/ , 2020.
15
“The Proud Boys, the bizarre far-right street fighter behind violence in New York, explained.” Vox.
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/15/17978358/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes-manhattan-gop-violence , 2018.
16
“10 Things You Didn’t Know About Disney’s ‘Aladdin.’” ScreenCrush. https://screencrush.com/things-you-didnt-know-
about-disneys-aladdin/, 2019.
group due to the song, and therefore chose the song to be the anthem of the Proud Boys,
saying it was the most annoying song in the world, and that he could not get enough of it.17
Traditionally, the “OK” hand gesture has been used to simply mean “affirmative” or
“OK”. Recently, however, it has been co-opted as a symbol of white supremacy/white power.
In 2017, anonymous users of the online message board 4chan began a hoax called “Operation
O-KKK” to see if they could trick the “wider world” into believing the gesture was a symbol of
white power.18 Unfortunately what began as a joke or a hoax became reality. By 2019, the
gesture was routinely used by “Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen, and other white nationalists…in
public to signal their presence and to spot potential sympathizers and recruits.”19 The sign has
been adopted by the white supremacy extremist movement, and the letters formed by the hand
gesture no longer stand for the letters “O” and “K,” but for “W” and “P,” for “white power.” 20
Several individuals accused of racially motivated crimes have used the sign on camera. 21
The State requests that the Court prohibit the defendant from publicly displaying
symbols and gestures that are associated with violent white supremacist groups and from
associating with known members of those groups, particularly the Proud Boys. Wis. Stat. §
969.03(1)(e) states nonmonetary conditions of bond may be imposed if they are deemed
“reasonably necessary to protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or
group that prides itself on violence, and the use of their symbols, raises the significant
possibility of future harm. Further, this association may serve to intimidate potential witnesses,
17
“Gavin McInnes and his Proud Boys want to make white men great again.” Bedford + Bowery.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190209020443/https://bedfordandbowery.com/2016/07/gavin-mcinnes-and-his-proud-boys-
want-to-make-white-men-great-again/ , 2019; “What Do the Proud Boys and ‘The Little Mermaid’ Have in Common?” Edge
Media Network. https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/story.php?297789 , 2020.
18
“How did the OK sign become a symbol of white supremacy?” The Independent.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ok-sign-white-power-supremacy-alt-right-4chan-trolling-hoax-
a9249846.html , 2019.
19
Id.
20
“Okay Hand Gesture.” Anti-Defamation League. https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-
gesture .
21
“How did the OK sign become a symbol of white supremacy?” The Independent.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ok-sign-white-power-supremacy-alt-right-4chan-trolling-hoax-
a9249846.html , 2019.
who may be unwilling to testify in this case because they may fear that the defendant’s
For the foregoing reasons, the State of Wisconsin respectfully requests the Court grant