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Kyle Rittenhouse likened to Joe Biden as he yawns in court during homicide trial

It's worth noting that he also couldn't help himself from yawning the day earlier during the jury selection process a day earlier

Kyle Rittenhouse was unable to remain focused and yawned several times during his homicide trial on Tuesday, November 2, in Wisconsin as a jury decides whether he will spend the rest of his life in prison for a triple shooting last year.

The 18-year-old is on trial for fatally shooting two Black Lives Matter protesters with a semi-automatic rifle at a demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020. The jury in the politically-charged case is expected to determine whether Rittenhouse acted in self-defense or was engaged in vigilantism when he used his AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, killing two and wounding a third.

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Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, let out several yawns as lawyers prepared to give opening statements in a Kenosha court about his actions during last year's Black Lives Matter protests over police brutality and racial injustice. The teenager often was seen yawning during the proceedings, including when he stood for jurors as they entered the courtroom and even when his own lawyer began opening remarks. It's worth noting that he also couldn't help himself from yawning the day earlier during the jury selection process.

Rittenhouse, who reportedly aspired to become a police officer someday, has maintained that he went to the protest in Kenosha in order to protect the property that was being destroyed by rioters. During the demonstrations, Rittenhouse fatally shot 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after the latter chased him across a parking lot shortly before midnight on August 25. Shortly after, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed 26-year-old Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.

The protests followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake a few days earlier, a black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down after the incident. Rittenhouse is being accused of playing vigilante and that he traveled to Kenosha seeking conflict. However, his defense team has argued that he acted purely out of self-defense. Rittenhouse is facing two counts of homicide, one of attempted homicide and two of recklessly endangering safety for firing his weapon near others. Meanwhile, he is also facing one count of possessing a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. Should the teenager be convicted of first-degree homicide, he could face life in prison.

The judge finalized 20 people — 12 jurors and eight alternates — from a pool of 179 potentials. The pool of 20 constitutes 11 women and nine men, and the judge has said he would decide at the end of the trial which ones are alternates and which ones will deliberate. The court did not ask the jurors to identify their race as part of the selection process and did not immediately provide a racial breakdown of the group, according to the Daily Mail.

Social media was inundated with comparisons of Rittenhouse and President Joe Biden, who appeared to doze off at the COP26 climate summit. Some joked the embattled teenager had chosen the US commander-in-chief as his role model.

"Kyle Rittenhouse vs. Biden sleep-off," one wrote while retweeting a clip of the President catching some shuteye during the COP26 opening statements. "Joe Biden falls asleep: "LEAVE JOE ALONE!" Kyle Rittenhouse yawns: "OMG LITERAL MURDERER STATE LINES MINOR SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE SOMETHING! TOTAL COINCIDENCE THAT EVERYONE HE SHOT WAS A PEDO OR AN ABUSER! HE'S AN ALT-RIGHT NAZI JAKJSDHIFAUHSDFIRUHASOIDUFH!!!!" Surf Wisely," a comment read.

"The New York Post publishes photos of Kyle Rittenhouse yawning during his homicide trial. The New York Post should be happy because that means he has chosen Joe Biden as his role model and is simply emulating Biden's behavior at the climate summit," another quipped.