Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, charged with murder after two killed during Wisconsin protests

A 17-year-old self-appointed militia member obsessed with the Blue Lives Matter movement has been arrested and charged with murder after two people were shot and killed in Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested by police in his Illinois hometown of Antioch, Commander Norman Johnson confirmed on Wednesday.

Antioch is around 15 miles from Kenosha, where violent protest has broken out since police shot a 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake, on Sunday night.

Riots spread through the city on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with Tuesday's demonstrations culminating in the deaths of two men. A third man was shot through the arm.

Dan Miskinis, chief of Kenosha police department, said at a press conference on Wednesday that one of the victims was a 26-year-old from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, 20 miles outside of Kenosha. The second victim was a 36-year-old Kenosha resident.

The man shot in the arm was 18 and expected to survive, he said.

Kenosha was "not a violent community," he said.

"Peaceful protest is welcome. We cannot support violence. Not only is it bad for the community, it detracts from the message."

Mr Miskins said the protests on Tuesday night began peacefully "then turned unruly."

"Persons who were out after curfew got involved in a disturbance, and persons were shot.

"A 17-year-old individual from Antioch, Illinois, used firearms to resolve whatever dispute was in place. As a result, two people are dead.

"That was not a police incident."

He said the names of those involved were not being released, but they "have a person in custody from outside the state."

He said it was not yet clear if both killings were carried out by the same person, although social media footage indicated they were.

Wisconsin is an open-carry state, meaning that you are legally permitted to carry a loaded weapon in public, without a permit or license. You must, unlike Rittenhouse, be over the age of 18.

On Wednesday the Democrat governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, accepted Donald Trump's offer to send in federal forces.

Mr Evers had already deployed the National Guard, but on Wednesday spoke to the president and accepted federal assistance.

"We will NOT stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on American streets," Mr Trump tweeted.

"TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!"

Major General Paul Knapp, commander-in-chief of the Wisconsin National Guard, said additional forces were being mobilised - but he refused to say how many.

He said "additional resources from surrounding states" were also being drafted in.

Rittenhouse was charged with first degree intentional homicide.

The teenager is believed to have been caught on camera running from the scene, and reportedly saying into his phone: "I just killed somebody."

Earlier in the evening a man identified on social media as Rittenhouse spoke to reporters in Kenosha and said he and other members of a militia had gathered by a petrol station to protect it from looting.

The man says he has been "pepper sprayed by a person in the crowd." The interviewer says: "So you have non-lethals, but you just did not respond?"

He replies: "We don't have non-lethals."

The violence in Kenosha began on Tuesday after the 8pm curfew went into effect. The curfew had been introduced the day before, in response to the violent unrest following the Sunday afternoon shooting of Mr Blake.

Mr Blake's family appealed for calm on Tuesday afternoon, and yet protesters still gathered outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, firing fireworks at officers stationed there to protect the building.

At around 9:20pm military vehicles entered the area around the courthouse, firing tear gas. At about 10pm approximately 70 police in riot gear arrived outside the courthouse and formed a line in front of the building, having pushed the protesters back.

An hour or so later protesters were pushed back towards Sheridan Road, where law enforcement in armored vehicles were waiting.

At the gas station nearby, armed militia had gathered to "protect" the property.

Around 11:45pm police were called and gunfire was reported.

Social media reports say the a white man, identified by the Washington Post as Ben, was chased by a white gunman across the forecourt of a used car sales center, next to a gas station. The gunman shot the other man in the head, then ran away.

As the gunman - now believed to be Rittenhouse - runs away, he is chased by protesters, and is heard on the phone saying "I just killed somebody".

One protester karate kicks him, and a second hits him with a skateboard, and the gunman is knocked to the floor.

The gunman then begins wildly firing, from the floor, shooting the skateboarder in the chest.

One man has his arm almost entirely blown off by the gunfire.

Directly following the second shooting, a group of police vehicles advances upon the crowd. Rittenhouse walks toward them and can be seen alternately putting his hands up and touching his gun.

As he approaches, the vehicles drive away and Rittenhouse gives them a slight wave. Someone in the crowd shouts: "Hey, he just shot them," as Rittenhouse advances and then disappears.

The two injured men were both carried by protesters to Froedtert Kenosha Hospital - the same hospital where Mr Blake was taken on Sunday.

At 2am on Wednesday, Sheriff David Beth confirmed to Kenosha News that there had been one fatality, and the death toll was updated shortly before dawn.

Rittenhouse was charged at approximately 12:30pm local time in Kenosha and an extradition hearing will be held to send him from Illinois to neighboring Wisconsin.

On Facebook, Rittenhouse, with his AR-15 style gun in American Flag slippers. Several of his photos on Facebook were set on the background of Blue Lives Matter flags and insignia.

One photo of him from 2017 shows him dressed as a safety cadet, a program for youths interested in law enforcement, at Target. The photo has since been removed.

His Instagram also has a Blue Lives Matter backdrop, but was set to private on Wednesday.

Mr Beth, the sheriff, said they had brought in reinforcements from all across the state of Wisconsin to deal with the unrest.

He said $300,000 damage was done to the justice complex on the first night alone, and said the building was being protected because it contained prisoners, who could not be easily evacuated in case of arson.

"In Kenosha, we are not accustomed to riots," he said.

"Molotov cocktails were being thrown, and then we did use tear gas to disperse the crowd. It's not something we wanted to do, but we had to do it."

Mr Beth said "many" were arrested on Tuesday night for violating the 8pm curfew.

He said the curfew for Wednesday night was being brought back to 7pm, and would remain in place until Sunday.

"We will gladly protect the protesters until then," he said. "It will help us disperse the crowds in daylight. We find that after dark we have many more issues with violence and things that go on."

Mr Beth said "a lot of protesters come for the show".

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He said, while many were legitimate, others came from outside the area "with no desire to protest."

"One of the invitations on social media looked like a party invitation - come, bring your backpacks with molotov cocktails and whatever else," he said.

"Some people think I should deputise, and have these people out there.

"What a scary thought that is. Part of the problem is that they create confrontation.

"It doesn't help us."

Asked why the gunman was allowed to flee, the sheriff said it was a chaotic situation, describing the drama as "non stop".

"In situations of high stress, you get incredible tunnel vision."

Asked if he was part of a militia, Sheriff Beth said: "I don't know. I don't even know his name."

John Antaramian, mayor of Kenosha, described it as "a devastating time for the community".

He condemned the violence, looting and arson, and demanded that it end.

"Kenosha is a community that, in the long run, will recover," he said.

But it will take time, it will take healing, and require us to reach out to all parties of the community."