The judge in charge of this case, Judge Bruce Schroeder, upon hearing Rittenhouse's plea of 'not guilty,' gave him $2 million bail. This money was collected by the aforementioned right-wing groups and a murderer was allowed to walk free.
Judge Schroeder noted there is no evidence that Rittenhouse is a flight risk or has violated his bond conditions by committing a crime, which would be required for him to grant the prosecution's two motions.
"To issue a warrant now for a defendant who has appeared at every hearing, I'd be breaking the law, and I'm not going to do it," Schroeder stated.
Schroeder ordered Rittenhouse to provide his current physical address to the court and the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office and ruled that the information would be kept under seal, due to concerns for Rittenhouse's safety. Mark Richards, an attorney for Rittenhouse, said the suspect has received threats.
Richards told the judge he would provide the information to the court clerk by the end of the day on Thursday. The judge declined to order that the address be provided to the district attorney's office.
The prosecution said it is "highly irregular" for the address of a defendant, particularly one charged with multiple counts of murder, to be withheld. He unsuccessfully argued the information was necessary for his officer to ensure bail conditions are being met.
Judge Bruce Schroeder has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he is not fit to make fair judgements on this case. His continual insistence that Rittenhouse be allowed to walk free shows that he puts no value in the safety of the public. His decisions in this matter have unequivocally proven that he needs to be removed. If he cannot take something as severe as hate crimes resulting in murder seriously, how can we expect him to make fair judgments in any other trial?