A political statement ends in a ticket for a Madison man.
Twenty-eight year old Travis Yates is ticketed for packing heat Saturday night near the state capitol building. Police spokesman Joel DeSpain.
"Mr. Yates evidently wanted to make a political statement. He believes that people should be able to walk around — law-abiding citizens — and openly carry a firearm. So he was walking around the square near State Street and a number of citizens were troubled and disturbed by what they saw and so we stopped him and let him know that he would be cited for disorderly conduct."
Open Carry is legal in Wisconsin, with certain exceptions such as near schools and in bars. Yates had been carrying a 9 millimeter gun, which was holstered on his hip. DeSpain says Yates cooperated with police.
"Yes, he was very cooperative … we told him that he should probably take this through the court system."
DeSpain says people were disturbed when they saw someone walking around with a gun, and that's why Yates was cited for disorderly conduct. Police gave him a ride home so he could put the gun away.