Wisconsin Right Now

The Justice Department filed two charges in federal court against the suspect in Friday’s hammer attack of the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Prosecutors charged the suspect, David DePape , 42, with attempted kidnapping and   assault with intent to retaliate against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. David DePape Criminal Complaint Read the full David DePape criminal complaint here: [embeddoc url="https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Pelosi-criminal-complaint.pdf" viewer="google"]  

Not only has the Evers' Administration failed to notify multiple victims' families about parole hearings throughout Wisconsin, but WRN has now documented that the Wisconsin Parole Commission is violating state law by failing to notify some law enforcement agencies in communities where convicted killers are living. For example, the West Bend and Waupaca Police Departments told Wisconsin Right Now that they were not notified of paroled killers' releases into those communities. The Onalaska police chief told the La Crosse Tribune that city wasn't notified of a strangler/rapist's release, either. "Nope, we had no idea, until we saw it in the paper like everyone else," a West Bend police commander told us after researching the notification issues. Wisconsin law explicitly states that both the municipal police department and Sheriff's Department shall be notified of a parolee's release before the release occurs: 304.06 (1)(g) Before a person ...

Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers' Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists. David Lahti was one of them. His release was discretionary. 53rdth in the series . “We’re fearful for the community,” Linda Frederick, of Kenosha, told the Kenosha News when Evers’ appointee freed David Lahti, the man who murdered her husband, Richard V. Frederick Sr., on Halloween night 1985. According to the newspaper, she thought he would never get out of prison. After all, he received a life prison term. That was before Tony Evers took office and appointed John Tate as parole chair. The newspaper article says the parole came as “startling news” to the Frederick family. According to the Kenosha News, the victim and killer lived in an apartment building in Kenosha. Lahti had told an apartment manager that he was goi...

Wisconsin Right Now is endorsing businessman and veteran Tim Michels for governor. Michels is right on policy matters, his business background will bring a fresh perspective to the governor's office, and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has simply failed on too many fronts to earn another term. Evers has proven himself to be an incompetent manager on a host of serious issues, from licensing to parole to veterans' homes , and the racial disparities in education are, alone, a reason to reject him. He's been a very partisan governor who has done nothing to reach across the aisle. "Wisconsin again posted the widest score gaps between Black and white students of any state, now by even greater margins," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote just a few days ago. That is an unacceptable failure by any measure, and voters should hold Evers, the so-called "education governor," accountable for it on Nov. 8. Evers' COVID policies kept some children out of scho...

One pardoned man was hired to be a Milwaukee police officer. In just four years, Gov. Tony Evers has granted more than 41% of all of the pardons granted in Wisconsin history since 1979. He's issuing pardons at a rate of 7 times more than his predecessors. Evers has been using his unfettered pardon power to wipe out people's lengthy criminal histories, even the records of some habitual criminals. Evers has granted more than 600 pardons in his term. That's nearly double the numbers of the closest governor, another Democrat, Jim Doyle, who served twice as long. Evers' pardon binge is another piece of the governor's soft-on-crime philosophy; he has also expanded early release programs from prison and appointed a Parole Commission chair who freed some of the most brutal killers and rapists in state history. He has begun reducing the prison population after pledging to do so by 50%. Pardons are different than paroles. Evers has sole authority over pardons in the s...

Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers' Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists. Alvin Jenkins was one of them. His release was discretionary. 52nd in the series . Alvin Jenkins was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting a woman in the head with a shotgun at close rang in front of her toddler son, who ended up providing a key statement. He was paroled on 8/7/2020. He was convicted in 1990. Today he's 61. He received a life sentence. Killers serving life sentences don't qualify for mandatory release. The release was discretionary, however, according to the Dept of Corrections, they don't know where he currently is as he's listed has Absconded in their system. According to court records , Jenkins was charged with killing Carol Greenwade, "who was shot in the head by a shotgun a...

Kerontae Pickens, a convicted cocaine and heroin dealer, was released early from prison on July 5, 2022, after completing the Wisconsin Department of Corrections' Earned Release Program. Like 40% of other criminals released early through such programs, he's already been arrested. A Milwaukee man was just charged with 12 felonies in Washington County for selling cocaine and fentanyl to undercover officers just three months after being released early from prison as part of the earned release program that was expanded by Gov. Tony Evers and his Department of Corrections. “I appreciate law enforcement's diligent effort to interdict these dangerous drugs and it becomes frustrating to all of us when we see repeat offenders who should be incarcerated continue to bring this poison into our county," Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis said. [caption id="attachment_92295" align="alignleft" width="248"] Kerontae Pickens[/caption] Hu...

Timothy Jones is an attempted kille r with a violent past who committed multiple new crimes while out on parole. But Tony Evers' Department of Corrections left Jones on the street even after he committed a string of new crimes a mere month after being released on a discretionary parole - and a court commissioner gave him a signature bond! Unbelievably, in 2020, Jones was given a signature bond by Dodge County Court Commissioner Steven Seim ; Jones then committed a second new crime a month after that, this time choking and punching a woman, chipping her tooth, after crawling through her window and threatening her. Only then was his parole finally revoked. DOC is directly under Evers' authority. One of the criminal complaints says Jones told the victim he did not fear any  "consequences." A 1992 article in the Capital Times explained that Jones, then 25, committed multiple attempted murders in Dane County. He shot three people in two different incidents. None of t...

A new report says Wisconsin shouldn’t have to pay $240 million if a new casino opens in Kenosha. The report from the Legislative Reference Bureau says the cost to the state is not as big under the latest gambling compact with the Forest County Potawatomi as it was under the last. “The financial risk to the state is not as great as during the 2013-15 deliberations. Since Gov. Walker rejected the Kenosha casino, the state agreed to a 2018 compact amendment with the Potawatomi that significantly reduces the state’s liability if a casino opens between 30 and 50 miles from the tribe’s Milwaukee casino,” the report states The old agreement with the tribe could have cost Wisconsin $243 million in compensation if a new casino opened within 50 miles of the tribe’s Milwaukee casino. “Most significantly, the 2018 amendment provides mitigation for revenue losses only on a going-forward basis,” the LRB analysis said. “In other words, unlike in the 2014 arbitrated amendment, the state would...

Another judge has ruled that absentee ballots must be properly – and completely – filled-out in order to be counted on Election Day in Wisconsin. Dane County Judge Nia Trammell on Wednesday refused to issue a temporary restraining order that would have stopped local election clerks from rejecting incomplete absentee ballots. "I believe that to issue a temporary injunction would upend the status quo, not preserve it," said Trammell. "I also believe that the fact that the election is all but two weeks away lends some credence to the argument raised by [the Wisconsin Election Commission] and the Legislature that any decision issued by the court granting the temporary injunction would frustrate the electoral process by causing confusion." The issue continues to be absentee ballot witness addresses. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin wanted a judge to give clerks some wiggle room on those addresses. State law is clear that voters and their witnesses must p...

Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers' Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists. Mariontai Stacy was one of them. His release was discretionary. 50th in the series . Marontai Stacy committed two horrific crimes in Racine: homicide and rape. Yet Tony Evers' appointee on the Parole Commission decided to let him out of prison early. According to an old article in the Racine Journal-Times, he shot and killed Ronald Thompson, 20. Stacy was with a group of men who beat and confronted Thompson. Horrifically, the victim ran away but Stacy and another man chased him down. The bullet wound struck his back, twice. In the rape case, Mount Pleasant police said Stacy and three other men took two teenage girls to a hotel where Stacy and another man raped a 14-year-old girl and held the other teen “against her w...

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul came out swinging in the Wisconsin Attorney General debate on Oct. 27, 2022, but he ended up botching the debate in some big ways. We counted at least 7. Kaul squared off against his Republican challenger, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney. Kaul seemed his most animated when he brought up abortion. He distorted Toney's record on some key issues. However, on questions of public safety - with homicide skyrocketing - Kaul flubbed badly. Here are the 7 ways Kaul botched the Wisconsin Attorney General's debate, which was held at the State Bar of Wisconsin : 1. Walking Coldly Away When Asked About the Mother of Child Murder Victim Lisa Ann French & Accusing the Grieving Mom of Playing Politics https://youtu.be/sS0tQCoyy4U Kaul's biggest flub came in the parking lot on his way into the debate. A key requirement of any attorney general is to have empathy for victims. However, when asked to respond to comments ...

Attorney General Josh Kaul coldly walked away on video when asked Thursday about Maryann Gehring, the mother of Lisa Ann French, the little girl murdered while trick or treating by the Halloween killer. Watch: https://youtube.com/shorts/sS0tQCoyy4U Gehring has accused Kaul of failing her and failing victims. The media have censored her comments. We asked Kaul his response to Gehring saying Kaul failed her and victims, and he stayed totally silent, walking away. We gave him multiple chances to respond, but he turned his back and walked away. His staffer held out his hand to try to block the video. We confronted Kaul outside the AG debate. Kaul's office is handling ongoing civil commitment proceedings to keep Halloween killer Gerald Turner off the streets. They were initiated by AG Brad Schimel with help from Kaul's opponent Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney.

Attorney General Josh Kaul coldly walked away on video when asked Thursday about Maryann Gehring, the mother of Lisa Ann French, the little girl murdered while trick or treating by the Halloween killer. https://fb.watch/gqGAkl6KQv/ Gehring has accused Kaul of failing her and failing victims. The media have censored her comments. We asked Kaul his response to Gehring saying Kaul failed her and victims, and he stayed totally silent, walking away. We gave him multiple chances to respond, but he turned his back and walked away. His staffer held out his hand to try to block the video. We confronted Kaul outside the AG debate. Kaul's office is handling ongoing civil commitment proceedings to keep Halloween killer Gerald Turner off the streets. They were initiated by AG Brad Schimel with help from Kaul's opponent Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney.  

Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers' Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists. Robert Jacobson was one of them. His release was discretionary. 49th in the series . Robert Jacobson, now 41, was involved in a wild shootout with Forest County Sheriff's deputies, and he was convicted of shooting at, and trying to kill, three of them. Jacobson was paroled on October 10, 2022, according to the DOC database . Jacobson's mandatory release date was 02/24/2025 , meaning this was a discretionary parole. He now lives in Crandon, Wisconsin. A Forest County law enforcement source advised us of the parole. In 2000, Jacobson was convicted of three counts of first-degree attempted intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon for the 1999 incident. This parole came just four days before Gov. Tony Evers appe...

Some law enforcement groups and police experts are blaming rising violent crime on a “toxic trio,” pointing the finger at anti-police rhetoric, lax prosecutors and the “defund the police” movement. “Defaming and defunding police has cops running for exits, as violence surges and we need them now more than ever,” said Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. “This should be a wake-up call." The comments come after recently released FBI crime statistics showed homicides increased in 2021, despite the fact that 2020 was a record-high year. Rape also increased, and vehicle thefts have risen more than 20% since 2019. Murder is up nearly 40% since 2019, the most significant increase since crime statistics of this kind have been tracked. "This report confirms there are two inextricably like public safety crises happening,” Johnson said. “Crime, especially murder, has risen precipitously since the summer of 2020 while law enforcement has been demoral...

  The long-awaited debate between Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat showed the candidates attempting to show their fitness for office amid health scares and personal attacks. The Tuesday night debate was the most significant platform that Democrat Fetterman has appeared in and fielded public questions since suffering a stroke in May. During the debate, he used closed captioning technology to understand what was being said due to auditory processing issues. He didn’t have trouble processing the questions and Oz’s statements but did stumble through most of his responses. Nevertheless, he positioned himself as a strong supporter of President Joe Biden who stands up for forgotten Pennsylvanians. Republican Oz portrayed himself as the embodiment of the American Dream and opportunity who wants to unite Americans and push for change. The candidates are vying for the seat held by Republican Pat Toomey, who decided not to seek reelection. T...

A murder victim's sister expressed shock when Wisconsin Right Now told her that her loved one's killer was paroled on Oct. 4, 2022. She DIDN'T KNOW. Even AFTER the Evers' administration was put on notice that multiple victims' families were not notified of paroles, and despite the law requiring a reasonable effort to notify victims, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. The Wisconsin Parole Commission, run by a new appointee of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, freed a double murderer and an attempted cop killer in October 2022, without at least one victim's family being notified, even as the debate over Evers' previous appointee's paroles of killers and rapists rages in the Wisconsin governor's race. We discovered the new cases after learning about them from a source. Editor Note: We will profile the October 10, 2022 parole tomorrow of the man convicted of trying to kill three Wisconsin sheriff's deputies. On Oct. 4, 2022, Eric Vogliotti, a double murderer ...

The judge said Wisconsin’s ban on political activity in local government doesn’t apply to Milwaukee’s mayor. Milwaukee’s get-out-the-vote partnership with a liberal/progressive firm is not technically against the law, so a judge is not going to stop it. Milwaukee County Judge Gwendolyn Connolly on Friday refused to grant the Republican Party of Wisconsin a temporary restraining order against Milwaukee Votes 2022, the city-backed privately funded get-out-the-vote effort with GPS Impact. “In this case, the plaintiffs’ complaint is entirely devoid of any allegations that the defendants engaged in conduct that resulted in the support of any particular candidate or party,” the judge wrote in her ruling . The Republican Party said GPS Impact is a Democratic operation that brags about winning for Democrats in predominantly Republican states. But the judge said Wisconsin’s ban on political activity in local government doesn’t apply to Milwaukee’s mayor. “Unlike the public miscondu...

Wisconsin Right Now is endorsing Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney in the state Attorney General's race because incumbent Josh Kaul has utterly failed on public safety, including on a critical promise he made in his first election to fix the crime lab. With violent crime skyrocketing in Wisconsin, the state can not afford another four years of Kaul, an Attorney General who is MIA on public safety but hyper-focused on partisanship. In contrast, Toney has proven himself to be an ethical, extremely hard-working, public-safety-focused candidate and district attorney, who will remove partisanship from the "top cop's" office by protecting the rule of law. At times, Toney has even drawn criticism from factions in his own party because he has so ethically adhered to the rule of law. This is incredibly refreshing. And it's what Wisconsin needs. Toney is very accessible and transparent. In contrast, Kaul has been secretive. For example, he has outrageously...