A federal judge in Wisconsin has allowed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of Anthony Huber, who was shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse during a 2020 protest, to move forward against Rittenhouse, police officers, and others.

John Huber, the father of Anthony, filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging that officers enabled a hazardous situation that breached his son’s constitutional rights and led to his death.

He also claims that Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the incident, collaborated with law enforcement to harm protestors.

John Huber is seeking an undisclosed amount of compensation from city officials, officers, and Rittenhouse.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman on Wednesday dismissed motions filed by Rittenhouse and the government defendants seeking to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit.

In allowing the case against Rittenhouse and the others to proceed, the judge said that Anthony Huber’s death “could plausibly be regarded as having been proximately caused by the actions of the governmental defendants.”

Rittenhouse attorney Shane Martin said in a phone interview that it’s important to note the ruling doesn’t address the merits of the case, it only allows it to proceed to the next phase.

“While we respect the judge’s decision, we do not believe there is any evidence of a conspiracy and we are confident, just as a Kenosha jury found, Kyle’s actions that evening were not wrongful and were undertaken in self defense,” Martin said.

Attorneys and private investigators for John Huber spent over 100 hours trying to locate Rittenhouse, tracking down addresses in seven states before they found the home of his mother and sister in Florida. The lawsuit was served on Rittenhouse’s sister, who said that he wasn’t home. Adelman said that was sufficient to qualify as being served.

Rittenhouse had argued that the case against him should be dismissed because he wasn’t properly served with the lawsuit. Adelman dismissed that, saying that Rittenhouse “is almost certainly evading service.”

“Rittenhouse has been deliberately cagey about his whereabouts,” Adelman wrote. “Although he denies living in Florida, he does not identify the place that he deems to be his residence.”

Attorneys for the law enforcement and government officials being sued did not immediately return emailed messages seeking comment.

The ruling puts Anthony Huber’s family “one step closer to justice for their son’s needless death,” said Anand Swaminathan, one of the attorneys for parents John Huber and Karen Bloom.

“The Kenosha officials that created a powder keg situation by their actions tried to claim that they cannot be held accountable for their unconstitutional conduct; that argument was soundly rejected today,” Swaminathan said in a statement.

Kyle Rittenhouse faced charges of homicide, attempted homicide, and reckless endangerment for the fatal shooting of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and the injury of a third individual with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle during a night of protests in the summer of 2020, sparked by the shooting of Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer.

Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges in November 2021 after he claimed he acted in self-defense.

His actions became a contentious issue in the discussions surrounding guns, vigilantism, and racial inequality in the United States.

Kyle Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha from his home in Antioch, Illinois, following the looting and arson of businesses after the shooting of Jacob Blake.

He took to the streets along with other armed civilians, carrying a weapon that was allegedly illegally obtained for him as he was underaged. During the protest, Rittenhouse first killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, in a car dealership parking lot.

He fled the scene, but stumbled and fell. Anthony Huber, 26, tried to disarm Rittenhouse with his skateboard and during the struggle, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.

This case is among several ongoing civil lawsuits related to the shootings. Gaige Grosskreutz also filed a similar lawsuit against Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse has remained in the public eye, particularly on social media, where he is a vocal supporter of gun rights and has nearly 1 million followers on Twitter. He has also spoken at conservative events.