KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Nearly five years after the 2020 riots that devastated downtown Kenosha, two major federal civil rights lawsuits related to the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings have been formally consolidated — and may remain in litigation well into 2026 or beyond.

Sam Hall, the county’s outside legal counsel, briefed the Kenosha County Board in open session on July 15, outlining the status of three remaining lawsuits tied to the unrest. Of those, he said the consolidated lawsuit brought by the estate of Anthony Huber and protester Gaige Grosskreutz is “by far the largest and most significant” pending case.

The two lawsuits, originally filed separately in 2021, were officially merged for pretrial discovery in May 2023 by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman. Both men were shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during the night of August 25, 2020. Huber was killed, and Grosskreutz seriously wounded. The suits target Rittenhouse and a wide range of law enforcement agencies and local governments, including Kenosha County, the City of Kenosha, and several surrounding jurisdictions.

“These were brought separately but ultimately consolidated,” Hall told board members. “There’s a very long runway on this case.”

That “runway” includes more than a million pages of documents already exchanged in discovery, with expert witness deadlines still ahead. No motions for summary judgment — the county’s next step to try to get the case dismissed — are due until March 2026. And even that deadline may be pushed back, Hall said.

The lawsuits allege that police and sheriff’s officials treated armed civilians, including Rittenhouse, with deference and leniency while aggressively policing demonstrators protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The complaints cite law enforcement actions that plaintiffs say amounted to deputizing vigilantes, funneling protesters into harm’s way, and allowing curfew violations by armed groups.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, fatally shot Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, and wounded Grosskreutz. He was later acquitted of all criminal charges after arguing self-defense.

The lawsuits brought by Huber’s father and by Grosskreutz are based on federal civil rights laws — including claims of conspiracy and failure to protect — and seek unspecified monetary damages. They name nearly two dozen entities and individuals as defendants, including former Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, former Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis, and law enforcement agencies from Racine, Waukesha, Sauk, Walworth, and Washington counties.

The defendants have denied all allegations, saying officers did not conspire with or support Rittenhouse or any other armed individuals. In court filings, the City of Kenosha and other municipalities rejected the idea that local governments could be held liable for the actions of a private individual acting independently.

In recent months, litigation has increasingly focused on missing or disputed records, including text messages sent by officers during the unrest. Plaintiffs filed a motion to compel missing phone data, alleging that departments failed to preserve key communications. The county and other defendants have opposed that motion, insisting they followed proper protocols and did not act in bad faith.

Meanwhile, litigation expenses continue to climb. A public records request revealed that Kenosha County has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on outside counsel in the riot-related lawsuits, with further costs expected as discovery and pretrial motions continue.

Hall also provided brief updates on two other pending cases from the unrest: one filed by journalists Alyssa Schukar and Scott Olson, who allege they were shot with rubber bullets, and another filed by Jacob Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake, who claims he was wrongfully restrained in a jail chair during booking. In both cases, summary judgment motions have been filed and are awaiting rulings.

In concluding his presentation, Hall reminded board members that while much of the public’s attention on 2020 has faded, the legal fallout is far from over.

“These cases remain very active and very much ongoing,” he said. “And that’s likely to be the case for the foreseeable future.”