The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse case dismissed a misdemeanor weapons charge against him on Monday, which is seen as a victory for the 18-year-old’s defense team.  

Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled moments before closing arguments were to begin, saying Wisconsin’s open carry laws were confusing and could be seen that 17-year-olds could openly carry certain firearms, the Chicago Tribune reported.   

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The charge, which experts saw as one of the stronger counts against Rittenhouse, carries up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.   

Following last year’s protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a then 17-year-old Rittenhouse walked the streets with an AR-15 style weapon and fatally shot two people, wounding a third.   

“The reason observers correctly believed the misdemeanor gun charge was a slam dunk is that it’s not disputed that Kyle Rittenhouse was under 17 and that he possessed a gun,” legal analyst Danny Cevallos told NBC News.   

He added, “For this statute to apply, the defendant had to also violate a hunting regulation that only applied to people under 16. The defense discovered what was essentially an error in the legislation, that Kyle Rittenhouse cannot violate a law that only applies to someone under 16.”  

Rittenhouse faces five felony charges, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, two first-degree recklessly endangering safety charges and attempted-first-degree intentional homicide. He is facing life in prison if convicted on one or more of the serious charges.   

Last week, a crying Rittenhouse took to the stand and claimed self-defense, saying he fired the weapon because he feared for his life.   

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