The Kenosha City Council was thrown into chaos this week during discussions over a planned taxpayer-funded memorial for one of the men killed by Kyle Rittenhouse after a participant questioned the commission’s move to submit the proposal rather than reject it.
At Monday’s meeting, which was captured on video, the city’s five-member parks commission delayed a decision that would have placed a memorial and plaque in a city park honoring Anthony Huber, a former convict skateboarder who was killed by Rittenhouse during a black man’s run was shot Lives Matter protest in 2020.
The video shows Huber, 26, chasing after a then 17-year-old Rittenhouse on August 25, 2020, swinging his skateboard at the teenager before being fatally shot in the chest.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of the murder last year. He was also acquitted of shooting another person and injuring another.
Huber’s friend Hannah Gittings requested that the memorial be placed on a tree in Anderson Park earlier this month, public documents filed by the commission show.
The proposal drew national attention earlier this week after Kevin Mathewson, a former Kenosha councilman who now works as an investigative journalist, received a tip early Monday morning about the then-unreported request.
Mathewson, who served on the commission with three of the five current councilors — including chairman Eric Haugaard — then sent out an email blast about the existence of the proposal and wrote about it on his Kenosha County Eye website.
The proposal soon became the subject of scrutiny from both the press and outraged Kenosha citizens – who flocked to the commission meeting to voice their opposition to the proposed tribute.
Mathewson, who also attended the meeting and recorded the proceedings to post on YouTube, told on Thursday that he believes council members would be quietly planning the proposal Monday and would have done so if its existence would have stayed under the radar.
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At Monday’s videotaped meeting, the city’s five-member Kenosha Parks Commission delayed a decision that would have placed a memorial and plaque in a city park to honor one of two men killed by the acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse on Aug. 25, 2020
The memorial would honor Anthony Huber, an ex-convict who was attacked in Rittenhouse while swinging a skateboard during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020
“I have no doubt it would have existed,” Matthewson said in an interview with , noting that meetings aren’t typically attended like this. “You didn’t expect a bunch of people to be there.”
Mathewson’s footage of the meeting, which was streamed live and has since garnered more than 35,000 views, shows a crowd of citizens voicing their concerns about the memorial, spurring city officials to vote 3-2 for the proposal.
At that point, about 21 minutes into the clip, Mathewson — who told the board met privately just before the meeting to discuss the vote that violated Wisconsin law — asked to speak and dissolved An exchange that featured the former Kenosha The city council is accusing the board of violating state laws governing open gatherings.
“Thanks for letting me speak again,” Mathewson says off-screen in the footage, before turning his suspicions on the commission.
“Just wanted to point that out to those of us who are watching on Youtube [at] home – three members of this five-person panel say we will submit it. You know what that means, right? A quorum met behind closed doors today…”
Before Mathewson can finish his thought, the clips show Alderman Haugaard, who said he was in favor of filing the proposal due to an ongoing legal battle between the city and Huber’s family, frantically banging the gavel to get Mathewson to talk.
After a short pause, Mathewson asks Haugaard, a former colleague, “Am I lying?
“You are,” replies Haugaard, accusing Mathewson of “misconstruing” the situation and its resulting unlawfulness, claiming that the councilor spoke “one on one,” which is not against the law.
Huber was mortally wounded after stalking Kyle Rittenhouse on the night of August 25, 2020. Prior to Huber’s assassination, Rittenhouse had already shot and killed 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum
“I know you don’t like it…” Mathewson begins to say in the clip, prompting Haugaard to interrupt and yell at the ex-councillor.
‘Open records have been lost, sir, and what you said is wrong. If you’re having one-on-ones…”
‘Did you talk about it or not?’ Mathewson then says. ‘With others on this board – yes or no?’
Haugaard begins to reply, “We talked about it -“
Before the city official can finish, Mathewson snaps, “Of course you did.”
This seems to set Haugaard again, who starts yelling again, “You can talk one on one. You can never stand here-“
“Let me have my say?” Mathewson then asks before Haugaard allows him to continue.
Mathewson continues, “So the chairman and other members of this panel — three of them, representing the majority — broke the law.”
Before he can deliver his sentence, Haugaard begins banging the gavel repeatedly with deafening intensity.
“And this guy’s freaking out,” notes a jaded Mathewson in the clip following Haugaard’s outburst.
“Because… because you’re misinterpreting the law,” Haugaard stammers in the recordings.
Mathewson addresses the city council by name, accuses Haugaard and other board members of bringing up the proposal solely because of the attention it received at the time, and urges the board to vote to reject Gitting’s motion.
“I understand you’re choosing the path of the coward, and you don’t like my calling you out, Eric,” Mathewson says, “but these people you just heard want you to say no today.
“You want to endure it here for a day that we’re all worried about another war, then you’ll let it go – we know how you work. We know how the state works.
“You broke the law by having a closed-door meeting with-“
At this point in the footage, Mathewson is again interrupted by another councilman, who yells for a short break.
“And now you don’t want to hear it,” Matthewson notes in the footage.
“I just want people to know that three of you said we were filing it.
“All five of you will unanimously agree – meaning all five of you have talked about it. You can not! That’s a walking quorum. This is quorate,” which refers to the alleged gathering of members prior to the official open meeting.
“You broke the law,” Mathewson continues. “I know you don’t want to hear it; and if you want to bang the hammer like a madman it doesn’t change what you’ve done is wrong.
Huber’s friend Lindsay Gettings, left, put forward the proposal for the public memorial which, if adopted, would be paid for with public tax money
“And if you want to be a coward and kick it on the table, that’s your prerogative.
“It will not affect the lawsuit. They said the police were responsible for what Kyle did and the jury said Kyle did nothing wrong,” Matthewson continues.
“Just do the right thing and stop playing political games for once.”
Another speaker, Kenosha resident Kathy Woods, echoed Mathewson’s sentiment, saying, “Of all the boneheads you could consider. Don’t think about it.’
Woods added: “This is an insult to the people who have memorials. who have done good.’
The original decision on the proposal was confirmed and will be discussed at a later date – a timeline that could span years, Matthewson told .
If the Commission votes to go ahead with the proposal, responsibility for maintenance would fall to Gittings.
The shooting came amid nights of violent protests in the city after police shot dead black domestic abuser Jacob Blake.
During arguments over the issue, Huber’s previous criminal record, including a domestic violence charge, was brought up.
It is unclear whether this will ultimately influence the decision on whether to have a memorial dedicated to him.
In 2018, Huber was found guilty of domestic violence and disorderly conduct. In 2012, Huber spent time in prison following a suffocation incident with his brother.
Huber was mortally wounded after Rittenhouse shot him in the chest. Huber had hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard before being mortally wounded.
In his obituary, Huber was described as a passionate skateboarder known for his “quick wit and comedic personality.”
The skateboarder had given chase after Rittenhouse shot and killed another man, 36-year-old convicted pedophile Joseph Rosenbaum.
Despite Huber’s killing, Gittings told the New York Post in a November 2021 interview, “I have a lot of sympathy for [Rittenhouse] because he’s just a kid to me, so it was like a really stupid kid that unfortunately became the poster child for it.
Gittings went on to blame some of the blame for Huber’s death on the city of Kenosha, saying, “Kenosha also needs to be held accountable for allowing these militia to show up and do exactly what they came here to do.”
Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (left), 36, with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him just before midnight on August 25, 2020