Joseph Rosenbaum
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| “ | Shoot me, nigga! | „ |
| ~ Rosenbaum during the Kenosha unrest |
Joseph Don "Jojo" Rosenbaum (September 21, 1983 - August 25, 2020) was an arsonist and convicted child molester who was killed participating in the Kenosha riots of 2020 following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Criminal and medical history edit
Rosenbaum was convicted in 2002 of committing an act of sexual misconduct with a minor under the age of fifteen on at least two occasions and of interfering with a monitor device. He served twelve and a half years in prison, during which he was disciplined for multiple violent acts. These included manufacturing a weapon, sex acts, multiple assaults and arson. In total, he received forty-two disciplines while in prison. He was released in 2016. Rosenbaum was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, having been in the mental hospital for a suicide attempt and was on antidepressants at the time of his death.
Rosenbaum's sex offender's registry entry shows that he was designated to be at high risk of re-offending.
Shortly before his death, Rosenbaum had charges filed against him for domestic abuse and battery. They were filed just a month prior to his death in August 2020 while participating in a riot.
Kenosha riots edit
Rosenbaum participated in the riots that took place in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed African-American man. He was caught on camera by a fellow protestor among a group of rioters who lit a dumpster on fire. Rosenbaum later became enraged and began a verbal confrontation with a man who extinguished the fire. Further arson attacks committed by Rosenbaum and others led to Rosenbaum having a confrontation with Kyle Rittenhouse, who he mistook for the man who had extinguished the earlier fire. Rosenbaum told Rittenhouse that he would kill him if he saw him again.
To get revenge on Rittenhouse for extinguishing the fire, Rosenbaum and a group of other rioters chased down Rittenhouse. The entire confrontation was filmed, with Rosenbaum throwing a plastic bag at Rittenhouse's head. A protestor named Joshua Ziminski fired a shot into the air, which caused Rittenhouse to stop running and turn towards the sound. Rosenbaum, who had been unarmed, then assaulted Rittenhouse and tried to take away his gun, at which point Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum four times in self-defence. Rittenhouse then took out his phone and was heard to say "I just killed somebody" before running away.
An on-the-scene reporter tried to administer first aid to the critically injured Rosenbaum, but was unable to help him. According to autopsy results, the shots perforated Rosenbaum's liver and right lung and fractured his pelvis. He also suffered minor wounds to the forehead and thigh. Rosenbaum was pronounced dead and Rittenhouse was charged with his murder, the murder of Anthony Huber and the attempted murder of another protestor named Gaige Grosskreutz who was shot in the arm. He was acquitted on all charges on 19 November 2021.