Lead Rittenhouse lawyer: ‘No matter the verdict, there will be anger’

By Mark Guarino

11:57 a.m.

Mark Richards, the lead defense attorney for Rittenhouse, said he is unsure if this case will set a precedent for future self-defense trials.

He said that what distinguishes this case from others is the intensity of emotions that have built up around it over the last year.

“I look at the case from a broader perspective — it cuts two sides in half. No matter the verdict, there will be anger on one side and happiness on the other, and that’s not right,” he said.

Talking to The Post in the hallway of the Kenosha County Circuit Courthouse, Richards — who is based in neighboring Racine, Wis. — said he believes Schroeder was fair to both sides. While waiting for the verdict, he said he feels “terrible” because he does not have a read on the verdict.

“That’s what it feels like every time,” he said. As for Rittenhouse, the defendant feels “the same,” he said: “an 18-year-old kid knowing or not knowing how his life is going to change.”