WATCH: Kyle Rittenhouse Admits He Was Not Legally Allowed To Possess Gun Used in Kenosha Shooting

Kyle Rittenhouse testified in his own defense on Wednesday in his homicide trial related to three people he shot, two fatally, during riots in Kenosha, WI, and during the prosecution’s cross-examination, Rittenhouse admitted that he knew that he was not legally allowed to possess the gun he used in the shooting.

Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree attempted intentional homicide for his alleged actions the evening of August 25, 2020 as protests in Kenosha turned violent after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse has argued that he acted in self defense.

Rittenhouse got emotional as he was questioned by his defense attorney, breaking down in tears at one point as he described the events that led up to the shootings.

Lead prosecutor Thomas Binger focused part of his cross-examination on how Rittenhouse obtained the AR-15 style rifle he used in the shooting since he was not legally allowed to possess such a gun as a 17-year-old, his age at the time.

Binger began this section of cross-examination by asking Rittenhouse to confirm that he had the gun “loaded with 30 rounds of full metal jacket ammunition,” which was “capable of killing at least 30 people.”

Rittenhouse testified that he asked his friend Dominic Black to purchase the gun for him after a camping trip where Black had brought along a similar gun.

“I was like, ‘hey, what if we get a rifle for me, I’ll give you the money, you can purchase it, it’s yours until I’m 18,'” Rittenhouse recalled his conversation with Black, saying that the plan was for him to buy it and be able to use it, and then once Rittenhouse turned 18 have Black turn the gun over to him and transfer legal ownership in a private sale.

“Because you knew as a 17-year-old you could not have that gun, correct?” asked Binger.

“I knew that I could not buy that gun,” replied Rittenhouse.

“You knew you could not possess that gun also, correct?” asked Binger.

“No.”

“You weren’t aware under Wisconsin law –” Binger began, before the judge interjected, saying that he would instruct the jury about what the law said, and what Rittenhouse believed the law to be wasn’t relevant.

Binger resumed questioning, asking Rittenhouse that it wasn’t just unlawful for him to purchase the gun, but to bring it home.

Rittenhouse acknowledged that he could not bring the gun to the Illinois home where he lived because he didn’t have a “FOID” card, or Firearm Owner Identification Card, which the state requires to legally possess a firearm. According to Rittenhouse, Illinois issues these FOID cards as young as 16 years of age, but he never got one. He had applied in May 2020, but there was a backlog by the government agency processing them, and once the criminal charges were filed against him, his application for a FOID card was denied.

“So you knew that without that FOID card the gun could not go back to your residence in Illinois, correct?” asked Binger.

“Correct,” Rittenhouse agreed.

“And you agreed it had to be kept at Dominic’s stepfather’s house in Kenosha, correct?” asked Binger.

Rittenhouse replied that the only time he used the gun was when he was with Black.

“And you picked out that gun because Dominic had one, correct?” asked Binger.

“Yeah,” said Rittenhouse.

Additional questioning revealed that Rittenhouse picked out an AR-15 partly because he believed Wisconsin law prohibited him from possessing a pistol until he was 18 and partly because the gun store where they went had a limited selection. He also acknowledged that he thought the gun “looked cool”:

Binger: You didn’t pick out the AR-15 for any other reason?

Rittenhouse: I thought it looked cool, umm, but no.

Binger: You didn’t pick it out because you wanted to go hunting with it, did you?

Rittenhouse: No.

Binger: You didn’t pick it out because you were going to protect your house, correct?

Rittenhouse: Correct.

Binger: You picked it out because it looked cool.

Rittenhouse: I thought it looked cool, if that’s a reason, yes.

Watch the video above, via CNN.