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As Kyle Rittenhouse‘s trial has played out in the Kenosha courtroom of Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder, moments of apparent deference to the defendant have struck many observers as curiously different from how murder proceedings often unfold.

Schroeder addressed some of these observations Wednesday, saying “people should have confidence in the outcome of the trial.” He called some coverage of the case “frightening.”

Schroeder, the longest-serving circuit judge in Wisconsin, said he’s been letting defendants draw jury alternates’ numbers for an estimated 20 years.

He explained Wednesday that he started doing it after the trial of a Black man when there was only one Black person on the jury and that person was dismissed after the court clerk drew the juror as an alternate.

Schroeder said that while there was nothing wrong with the way the alternate was picked, the optics looked bad.

Since then he said he’s had an almost universal policy of having defendants draw alternates. Legal experts said that might be unconventional, but not necessarily wrong. Schroeder said he hasn’t had any complaints in this case, and suggested that those who were dissatisfied were trying to undermine the results of the trial.

Includes reporting by AP

Five schools in Kenosha are going virtual this week over concerns for the safety of staff and students due to the schools’ proximity to the Kenosha County Courthouse.

These include Brass Elementary, Frank Elementary School, Harborside Academy, Reuther Central High School and Washington Middle School, reported ABC-affiliate WISN.

“While we have not been advised of any existing imminent danger, we feel this is the best course of action to protect our students and staff during an uncertain time. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement to receive support as needed in the days and weeks ahead,” said Kenosha Unified School District in a message to parents cited by the TV news station.

As the judge presiding over Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial came under scrutiny once again for allowing Mr Rittenhouse to pick the names of the six jurors, a defence attorney practicing in Kenosha court for 54 years said that this is how the judge normally conducts himself.

“It’s not just because it’s Kyle Rittenhouse, he does this in everybody’s case,” Terry Rose, told ABC affiliate WKOW.

“There is nothing wrong with it,” Mr Rose, said of judge Bruce Schroeder’s decision to allow Rittenhouse the draw the alternate jurors names out in his murder trial. “It does not tilt the case either way. When a defendant sticks his hand in the cylinder, pulls out a piece of paper, he can’t see what’s on that paper.”

Right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza told Fox News on Wednesday that Kyle Rittenhouse’s homicide trial is being portrayed as “a kind of symbol of the Trump movement”.

“This isn’t just a trial about Rittenhouse,” he said. “In fact the prosecution early on was very eager to show him fraternising or associating with the Proud Boys.

“They wanted to try to make Rittenhouse a symbol for Trump’s America. By contrast, the rioters, the looters, the arsonists — this is Antifa. These are the people that the media has protected for a year.

“And if you were to read media accounts of this confrontation, you would never get a sense of who these people are or what these people were doing or the violence they were engaging in or the fact that they chased Kyle Rittenhouse and not the other way around.”

Claiming that assistant district attorney Thomas Binger is acting as “the apologist for the left-wing narrative,” D’Souza said: “They want to get Rittenhouse because they want him to be a stand-in, if you will, for the whole Make America Great Again movement.”

Conservative shock jock Jesse Kelly went on a bizarre rant about “man-hating feminists” running the country on Wednesday’s edition of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.

Arguing that the prosecution believes Kyle Rittenhouse “should not have stopped the street animals from burning down Kenosha”, Kelly said: “They believe they have a right before God, their communist God, to burn this country down.”

He was responding to Carlson, who asked Kelly, whether “you don’t have a right to protect your own life?”

“That’s the take-away they’re going to get from it, Tucker, because it’s their entire world view,” said Kelly.

“It’s hard for Americans to accept, it’s hard for me to accept where we are as a country. Where we are is people in positions of power now, they’re the crazed nut job that used to be on the street corner protesting, the man-hating feminist who used to hide in her apartment hammering Nutter Butters. These people are now CEOs, they’re district attorneys, they’re senators, they’re presidents, and that’s why you see this.”

“They genuinely believe Kyle Rittenhouse should not have stopped the street animals from burning down Kenosha, or any other city. They believe they have a right before God, their communist God, to burn this country down.”

“I love Nutter Butters,” responded Carlson. “I am sorry to say that. I am not defending feminism in any way but I can’t resist.

“So what’s our reaction to this,” asked Carlson. “You gotta think that the people watching this trial, no matter what the outcome is, will conclude you really can’t defend yourself in the country. Like, how could you?”

“I don’t think people want to hear what we have to do Tucker,” responded Kelly. “Because what we have to do is get out of Blue areas. You are not safe in area that is blue now in this country,” he said apparently referring to the states with Democrats in power.

“Not because of street mobs either because of exactly what you are seeing here. Because the people who have the power to ruin your life will throw you in a dark hole forever, they are now in positions where they can make that happen.”

He advised the Americans to get “to a red area, become an activist, run for DA, run for school board. Make it redder.”

“We are not in the year 2000, we are not even in the year 2010. These people are now desperate and are lashing out and they are going to hurt a lot of people on the right before they are gone.”

They also heard testimony from police, people who witnessed the shootings, the man who survived a gunshot from Mr Rittenhouse’s AR-15-style rifle, and Mr Rittenhouse himself.

Alex Woodward has the details.

Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz on Wednesday said he might reach out to Kyle Rittenhouse to hire him as a congressional intern.

“He is not guilty,” declared the conservative lawmaker while speaking to Newsmax. “He deserves a not guilty verdict, and I sure hope he gets it because you know what? Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a pretty good congressional intern. We may reach out to him and see if he’d be interested in helping the country in additional ways.”

The anchor Grant Stinchfield responded saying that he “wants him here at Newsmax”.

“So maybe we’ll have to fight for him,” said the anchor. “I want him here at Newsmax. Maybe he can be a Stinchfield intern too.”

“You guys pay way better at Newsmax,” replied Mr Gaetz. “But there’s nothing like the Hill.”

Throughout the two-week trial, jurors reviewed more than a dozen pieces of video, including livestreams from that night, an interview Mr Rittenhouse gave moments before he fired his gun, body camera footage, and aerial video from the FBI.

Alex Woodward has more.