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WILL files lawsuit against Dane County health order, County Executive Parisi says order is needed for public safety

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Dane County and Madison will be stepping up to defend their health department in a lawsuit against health orders.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty wants the State Supreme Court to directly strike down an order restricting indoor gatherings in Dane County.

WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg says the new order is invalid because the county board and city council did not vote on it. “The latest order from the health department in Dane County illustrates why a single, unelected and unaccountable health official should not be allowed to rule unilaterally by decree.”

“Banning private family gatherings just before Thanksgiving, while allowing Black Friday shopping, makes little sense.”

WILL is skipping Dane County Circuit Court entirely and asking the State Supreme Court to rule immediately on the lawsuit.

Dane County executive Joe Parisi says that Public Health Madison-Dane County has the authority to issue orders. “Our legal team is confident that we have the authority that’s been utilized by the city and the county and by the public health department and we will defend it vigorously in court.”

Parisi says this is just another effort to undermine health orders that are desperately needed to protect the public from COVID-19. “What they are attempting to do right now is to strike down the entire order and our ability to use the tools at our disposal to try to protect our community.”

“Let’s take a 30 day time out, let us get through two incubation cycles of the virus, and this could have a tangible impact on the spread, and provide some much-needed relief to our hospital system.”

Parisi says the city and the county will be defending the order vigorously in court. 

Vos wants committee to investigate allegations of elections fraud

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he wants a legislative committee to investigate allegations of elections fraud in Wisconsin.

Speaker Vos said in a statement late on Friday that he’s concerned about stories about ‘mail-in ballot dumps’ and an ‘inefficiency of Milwaukee’s central counting of absentee ballots’.

He wants the Assembly elections committee to investigate and possibly subpoena records. Vos also encouraged residents to volunteer for recounts.

Elections Commission administrator Meghan Wolfe said earlier this week that such allegations are “impossible” and that elections staff have followed the very stringent election laws that were put in place by the Legislature.

Marshfield’s police chief accused of sexually assaulting female police officer

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Marshfield’s police chief is now facing sexual assault charges.

The complaint filed by Jackson County Assistant District Attorney Jeri Marsolek details allegations from a female employee that Gramza sexually assaulted her in his office. The victim told an Eau Claire police investigator the assaults happened repeatedly during the past five years, but she was afraid to report them.

Gramza is being charged with felony misconduct in office and fourth degree sexual assault.

Mayor Bob McManus reacted, as he learned of the charges during his monthly appearance on a Marshfield radio station. “Now we’re just going to have to let the process take place. Now we know what the charges are, so now begins the legal issues that take place.”

Gramza has gone through multiple investigations this year, and has been on leave since August. The chief will make an initial appearance to the charges next month.

Wisconsin Republican party takes $2.5 million hit from cyberattack

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A cyberattack has resulted in more than two million dollars being stolen from the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

RPW Chairman Andrew Hitt said suspicious activity was first noticed a week ago, and the FBI  was notified after party officials confirmed $2.3 million was missing. Hitt said hackers lifted the cash by manipulating information in e-mails and invoices to vendors the party was using on the presidential campaign.

Hitt said the national party had warned state parties about potential cyberattacks, but  “Unfortunately, one slipped through the cracks.”

Rothschild police investigate hate mail sent to Joe Biden supporters

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Image taken from Facebook

Police in central Wisconsin are investigating after threatening letters were sent to the homes of Joe Biden supporters.

The Wausau Daily Herald reports that those letters turned up in the mailboxes of homes in the village of Rothschild which had Joe Biden signs in the yard.

The anonymous letters call the residents the enemy of a white and conservative neighborhood, and say that support for Joe Biden will not be tolerated. The letter goes on to call the residents evil, and that they should prepare for a war.

The letters were delivered through the mail and originated in Green Bay, but were personally written to each home.

Wausau lawmaker apologizes for not disclosing OWI arrest

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A central Wisconsin lawmaker is apologizing for not disclosing a OWI arrest.

The Wausau Pilot and Review reports that Assemblyman Pat Snyder was arrested for drunk driving in 2018. This was Snyder’s second OWI arrest, but since it was over 10 years after his first OWI arrest, it was not treated as a misdemeanor.

Snyder apologized in a letter to the Pilot, and said that he re-enrolled himself in alcohol abuse counselling following the arrest. Snyder has publicly claimed he’s had issues with alcoholism in the past.

Wisconsin is the only state where first-time OWI is a traffic offense and not a criminal case.

DOJ ready to enforce voter intimidation laws as in person voting opens

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Early voting is now underway across Wisconsin and the Department of Justice says it’s ready to protect voters.

Attorney General Josh Kaul says they are going to be watching for voter intimidation during the next two weeks heading into election day. 

“Somebody uses force or the threat of force to prevent somebody from voting? That’s a crime. It’s also a crime to cause somebody to be in a state of duress to prevent them from voting.”

Kaul says people are welcome to come out and observe the vote, but they are not allowed to make themselves part of the process or threaten voters. 

“Election inspectors are giving a lot of authority to make sure that polling places are are able to run smoothly, and so if an individual disrupts or interferes with the voting process, election inspectors are able to remove those folks from the polling locations and to contact law enforcement.”

Kaul says intimidation doesn’t just have to be direct threats to someone, it can also be people loitering near a polling place with the aims to turn people away from the poll. 

Judge rules against conservatives in health order lawsuit

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A St. Croix County judge has ruled against a conservative law firm who tried to challenge Governor Evers’ powers to issue emergency orders. 

Judge Michael Waterman has denied a request to halt Governor Evers’ public health emergency order.

The Wisconsin Institute for law and Liberty, backed up by legislative Republicans, said that Governor Evers did not have the power to issue more than one 60 day order in a row for the same crisis. Attorneys for the Governor’s office said new orders can be issued if the public health emergency is still ongoing.

Judge Waterman agreed with the Governor’s office, and said that the 60 day time limit was a sufficient check, because the Governor has to explain in each order why the state of emergency still exists. He says that the legislature can end the state of emergency at any time, but so far, it has declined to do so. 

Judge Waterman’s ruling has an effect of keeping both the mask mandate and the newly issued occupancy mandate in effect.

Governor Evers is calling the move a victory for the people of Wisconsin. “As the number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin reached 150,000 yesterday, we will continue doing everything we can to prevent the spread of this virus. We ask Wisconsinites to please stay home as much as possible, limit travel and going to public gatherings, and wear a mask whenever out and about.”

Attorney General Josh Kaul says the ruling was the right move. “Wisconsin currently faces one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the nation, and the mask requirement is a critical protection against the ongoing danger that the coronavirus poses to Wisconsinites’ health. I encourage legislative Republicans to stop supporting this attack on the mask requirement and instead to work with Governor Evers to adopt statewide policies that will allow us to more effectively to fight the virus and keep Wisconsinites safe.”

A number of legislative Republicans have stated that if the lawsuit against the Governor failed, that they would move to take action in the Legislature. So far today, no announcements on public hearings or votes in the full legislature have been scheduled. The Legislature’s joint rules committee is set to take a vote today on the order, but they cannot change the ruling themselves without action from the full legislature or a court order.

Attorney says Rittenhouse will fight extradition

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The Illinois 17-year-old accused of gunning down two protesters in Kenosha last month is fighting extradition from Illinois to face homicide charges in Wisconsin.

John Pierce, an attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse, spoke during an online hearing on Friday. “I can tell you quite succinctly that we intend to challenge extradition, by writ of habeas corpus.

Pierce asked that extradition documents be sent from Wisconsin so they can reviewed by Rittenhouse’s legal team. He’ll also need to be served with a warrant from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. “These are going to be involving issues of some complexity that frankly have not arisen is this country for some time.”

His attorneys say Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. He’s due back in court October 9.

Four people shot at Mayville elderly housing facility

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Four elderly people were wounded in a mass shooting in Mayville, in Dodge County.

Two of the four were airlifted from the Spring Glen Elderly Housing facility to trauma centers and they are in critical condition. One of the critical patients is said to be the shooter. No names have been released.

The shooting was reported by a 911 caller shortly before 7:30 PM. The Dodge County Sheriff’s office, Mayville Police, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice are investigating.