A Wauwatosa police squad on the scene of a non-fatal officer-involved shooting. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The State Assembly’s Committee on Judiciary held a public hearing Wednesday to discuss a bill which, if passed, would restrict the use of John Doe hearings in cases where prosecutors decline to charge police officers after deadly force incidents. Republicans and law enforcement supporters of the bill (AB-34) said officers need to be protected from repeated investigations, and that anti-police groups have abused Wisconsin’s John Doe law to harass innocent officers who’ve been involved in civilian deaths. A long line of attorneys, legislators, social workers and others spoke in opposition to  the bill, arguing that it adds to an array of legal privileges and protections police already enjoy.

Wisconsin’s John Doe law allows for a judge to be petitioned to review a case where prosecutors have already decided not to file charges. Once a John Doe hearing has been called, the judge may hear arguments from the petitioner as to why probable cause should be found that a crime was committed. If the judge agrees that probable cause does indeed exist, then special prosecutors may be appointed by the judge to review the case. Those prosecutors, however, ultimately decide whether charges will be pursued, regardless of whether a judge finds probable cause of a crime. 

Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonee), an author of the bill, said the law had been used to “unfairly target” two officers who’ve been involved in deadly incidents. Former Wauwatosa officer Joseph Mensah killed Jay Anderson Jr. in 2016, claiming that Anderson lunged for a gun on the passenger seat of his vehicle. Anderson was the second person Mensah had killed in a year. He was involved in a total of three fatal shootings over his five year career at Wauwatosa PD. Mensah left Wauwatosa PD in late 2020 and was hired by the Waukesha County Sheriffs Department, where he is a detective. 

In 2021, a John Doe hearing was called to review Anderson’s shooting, after which Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro found probable cause existed to charge Mensah with homicide by negligent use of a dangerous weapon. The second John Doe hearing, started in 2023, focused on Madison police officer Matthew Kenney for the 2019 killing of 19-year-old Toney Robinson. A judge declined to allow the hearing to go forward. 

“After the investigations, the court confirmed that he had acted in self-defense,” Moses said of the John Doe hearing in Anderson’s case. Mensah’s John Doe hearing “mirrored” reviews done by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and Wauwatosa PD, he said. “It’s concerning that such investigations, which echo previous exhaustions, can be perpetuated, consuming significant time and resources,” said Moses. 

While speaking Wednesday, Moses incorrectly referenced Mensah’s 2015 shooting as being the reason for the John Doe hearing in 2021. “Officer Mensah used self-defense to protect himself while on the job in a situation in 2015,” Moses testified on Wednesday. In 2015, Mensah killed 29-year-old Antonio Gonzales while still in his probationary period at Wauwatosa PD. Neither Gonzales, nor Mensah’s third fatal shooting of Alvin Cole in 2020, were the subjects of John Doe hearings.

Last year, when the bill was first introduced, Moses joined Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) in claiming that families of people killed by police were seeking vengeance against officers. Moses confused details of Mensah’s shootings during those hearings as well. When asked about the mix up, Moses admitted to Wisconsin Examiner that he had not closely followed the Mensah cases. 

As Moses testified on Wednesday, Hutton joined him in the committee room. Hutton, who has brought forward Senate versions of the bill, has said that although he’s taken extensive feedback from law enforcement about the bill, he has not reached out to the families of people killed by police. During a hearing in February, Mensah testified in favor of the bill.

Mark Sette, vice president of the Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police, said the bill is “crucial” and that law enforcement “have both the duty and right” to use deadly force to protect themselves or others. Sette said that police must make split second decisions in high-stress circumstances, and that deadly use of force incidents “are rare”. Sette praised Wisconsin’s process of conducting reviews of deadly force incidents led by an outside agency, saying that the investigations are thorough. Sette said that repeated investigations prevent officers from moving on with their lives, and trap them in a cycle of psychological trauma and financial stress. 

West Allis Police Chief Patrick Mitchell, a former president and current legislative chair of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, also praised the investigative process. Mitchell pointed to the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT) as an example of how thorough reviews of deadly force incidents by police can be. 

Not everyone was sold on the bill, however. Rep. Andrew Hysell questioned Sette and Mitchell about whether or not it’s possible for a district attorney to make a mistake in clearing an officer of wrongdoing. Sette said although it’s possible, that it’s “incredibly unlikely” because of the thoroughness of deadly force investigations. Hysell said that district attorneys aren’t infallible, and that the bill — if passed — would set in stone a prosecutor’s decision, and deny one legal avenue for families of people killed by police.

After Moses, Sette, and Mitchell came numerous people from a variety of backgrounds voicing opposition to the bill. Gregory Jones, vice president of the Wisconsin NAACP and president of the organization’s Dane County branch, urged lawmakers to dig deep, ask tough questions, and consider all aspects of how the bill could negatively impact civil rights and the pursuit of  justice. 

Amanda Merkwae, advocacy director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin, stressed that the bill takes away judicial discretion and elevates law enforcement as a privileged class above all other citizens. Merkwae noted that prosecutors and law enforcement have close working relationships, and that district attorneys often rely on the very officers whose actions they’d need to review when citizens are killed. 

The advocacy director also cited investigations by MAIT, citing an investigation by Wisconsin Examiner in partnership with Type Investigations, which reviewed 17 MAIT investigations from 2019-2022, all of which resulted in no charges against officers. Merkwae listed the article’s findings including that officers who kill citizens are interviewed as witnesses or victims only, can refuse to have their interviews recorded, and may amend their statements after viewing video evidence. In several MAIT investigations, officers were not separated from one another to prevent statement contamination despite this being a required policy. 

Mensah and other officers provided contradictory statements and were not separated from one another after his third shooting. These facts were raised during a federal civil trial into Alvin Cole’s death earlier this year. The trial ended in a hung jury, with jurors unable to unanimously agree on whether Mensah’s killing of Cole was excessive. 

Merkwae said that last year, Wisconsin had 24 fatal police encounters, up from 14 incidents the prior year. “So by creating a separate standard for police officers, this bill sends the message that they are above the law,” said Merkwae. “Which, I think, is a dangerous precedent that erodes trust and makes community engagement with law enforcement more fraught and less effective.” 

Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) also spoke in opposition. Clancy said that he hadn’t planned to speak on the bill, but decided to when he heard Mensah’s name being used. “The idea that an officer who killed three people in three different incidents is a poster boy for why this is good legislation rather than bad is mindblowing to me,” said Clancy. “Joseph Mensah serves as an example of how our current system is failing the people that it is designed to protect. Had Joseph Mensah been held accountable after the first time he shot and killed somebody, he wouldn’t have shot and killed a second and a third person, in three different incidents. And it is sickening to me that he was brought up as an example of how this is necessary because he feels that some folks are mean to him in trying to find some measure of accountability.”

More people rose to speak against the bill after Clancy. Some were social workers and medical staff, who recounted being spat on, punched, kicked, scratched, and hurt yet never once considering criminally charging the person who hurt them. It’s a privilege that police officers have which they do not, the speakers argued. At one point, a Wisconsinite who wished to be identified only as G. Lee attempted to testify while wearing a hat that used an obscenity to criticize President Donald Trump. Committee Chair Ron Tulser (R-Harrison) called the hat offensive and got into an argument with Lee, after which he called for the assistance of the  Capitol Police and called the committee into recess. 

When the hearing re-started, G. Lee was allowed to testify on AB-34 while wearing the hat, though he was warned any breaches of decorum would result in him being removed. Lee apologized that the hat “threatened or offended” Tusler, and stated that Tusler reacted from a position of power. Comparing that to the powers police have, Lee said “what scares me about the decorum set in this room, and the measure tied to this bill, is about power.” 

Lee, speaking directly to Tusler, said that when the hearing was stopped because of Tusler’s feelings, “One of my concerns here is that we are privileging the feelings of law enforcement over the feelings of families who’ve actually lost loved ones to bullets. That’s an important thing to consider here. The whole system is set up to protect a particular part of the state power, and you’ve used your state power to make a message.”

The Milwaukee County Courthouse (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Update: ICE spokespeople directed Wisconsin Examiner to a post made on X (formerly known as Twitter) announcing the arrest of Kevin Lopez, 36, a Mexican citizen, who the post said is facing state charges of sexual assault of a minor, and sexual assault of an unconscious victim. The post states that Lopez had been previously arrested by local authorities for cannabis possession. Online court records confirm the charges against Lopez.

Another Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest was made at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on May 7. Chief Judge Carl Ashley said he was told the arrest occurred after a court hearing. Since March, at least four people have been arrested for immigration enforcement in or near the courthouse. Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was charged with obstruction after escorting a man sought by ICE into a public hallway outside her courtroom. 

The identity of the person arrested Wednesday has not been released. ICE officials have been unable to provide information at this time to Wisconsin Examiner.

In late March, Marco Cruz-Garcia, 24, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in the courthouse as he appeared in family court on a domestic violence restraining order. In a statement, ICE accused Cruz-Garcia of being a known member of the “Sureños transnational criminal street gang,” and cited his 2020 deportation order by a judge.  

Edwin Bustamante-Sierre, 27, a Nicaraguan citizen, was arrested days after Cruz-Garcia on April 3. ICE said in a statement that Bustamante-Sierre had been charged with reckless driving, endangering safety, reckless use of a firearm, use of a dangerous weapon and cocaine possession in Fond du Lac County and Milwaukee County.

On April 18, agents arrested Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, a Mexican immigrant lacking permanent legal status, who faced three misdemeanor domestic battery charges. 

The arrest of Flores-Ruiz led to Judge Dugan’s arrest. On April 25, Dugan was arrested outside the courthouse, with agents leading the judge to an unmarked squad car in handcuffs. Protests erupted that day and over the weekend at the FBI Milwaukee office, which conducted a speedy investigation into Dugan, after right-wing media outlets claimed to have broken a story about Dugan helping the man evade ICE by leading him out a side door in  her courtroom.

A bipartisan letter from judges around the country objected to the unusual, high-profile arrest and “perp walk” of Dugan. 

Local officials in Milwaukee have spoken out against the ICE arrests at the courthouse, saying they are disrupting proceedings as community members seek crucial services and are discouraging people from coming to court.

Kristen Payne, a member of Lead Safe Schools MKE. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Update: The Milwaukee Health Department announced Thursday that 22 children were screened at the clinic, and two needed follow-up blood tests. The department said in a statement the turnout was lower than officials had hoped for, but that the department will host additional school-based screening clinics. The department also is advising families to visit pop-up clinics at Children’s Wisconsin hospital’s Next Door Clinic and the Sixteenth Street Health Center Community Outreach program.

As a lead screening clinic was being set up inside Milwaukee’s North Division High School Wednesday, a coalition of parents, teachers and locals gathered outside to voice their frustrations about the response to lead contamination in Milwaukee Public School’s (MPS). The group had gathered to “demand that lead contamination in our schools, our city and our state, be urgently and effectively addressed in a manner consistent with health science data,” said Kristen Payne, a member of Lead Safe Schools MKE, during a press conference outside the high school. 

The press conference brought together several groups including Lead Safe Schools MKE, Freshwater for Life Action Coalition, Get the Lead Out and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. Inside North Division, the  Milwaukee Health Department set up a clinic in the cafeteria and prepared to screen up to 300 children. Concern over lead in MPS buildings has grown since January, after a student was reportedly poisoned. Just under 400 MPS students have been tested and several schools temporarily closed due to lead hazards so far this year.

“Testing our kids for lead poisoning is important, and it’s also not nearly enough,” Payne said. “Until the district, city and state work proactively to address root causes of lead exposure, these testing clinics will do little to prevent exposure of a harmful toxin.” Every year, more than 1,200 children in the city of Milwaukee test positive for lead poisoning, with an average age of 3 years old. With over 70,000 MPS students among the tens of thousands of children in the city, ensuring that enough children are getting tested can be challenging.

Katie Doss is the grandmother of one of those children who tested positive. “She was hospitalized,” said Doss, and  received a blood transfusion. The experience led  Doss to work with the Coalition on Lead Emergency (COLE) and city officials to help get as many children tested as possible. She eventually became a lead program coordinator. “Since then, I’ve got over 400 children tested,” said Doss.

Doss wasn’t alone. “I believe that my grandchildren have the right to go to school without the threat of exposure to lead,” said Maria Beltran, a local resident, grandmother and member of Freshwater for Life Action Coalition. “Lead exposure in children, like my entire family and myself — I have seven kids, seven grandchildren, and married — lead exposure in children can damage the brain and nervous system, cause developmental delays, learning challenges, behavioral issues, [and] hearing loss. Also in adults, lead exposure and lead poisoning can cause high blood pressure, kidney damage, brain damage, miscarriage, and infertility that I have experienced in my entire family as well.”

The group of parents and residents that joined Payne expressed their feeling  that MPS and the Health Department have been more reactive than protective when it comes to addressing lead contamination. Some questioned why only elementary schools, and not middle and high schools, are the focus of current testing and remediation efforts. Others felt that they’d been left in the dark as to how lead poisoning affected their loved ones, or felt that school officials were sending out last-minute warnings to parents about lead hazards. Such notifications often came as emails, sent in the evening hours or  near weekend days, parents at the press conference said. 

The coalition demanded that MPS test all buildings for lead in dust, paint, water and soil. Additionally, the group called on the school district to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for lead-in-water readings <1.0 (parts per billion), and for better lines of communication to be established between school officials and parents. The group further demanded that the MPS Board of Directors pass a recently introduced lead-safety resolution, that city departments implement more proactive measures and that Gov. Tony Evers and the Legislature help remediate lead in schools statewide. 

Melody McCurtis, deputy director and lead organizer of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, said that city officials are concerned with “growing the city without repairing the past harm that the current residents in this city is facing, especially in terms of lead.” McCurtis added,  “This city is prioritizing policing in our schools, prioritizing more than half of our city budget going to the police, but not going to prevention of crises like the lead crisis. It is going to take more than the Milwaukee Public School, the Health Department, and the city elected officials to come together to not just treat the issue, but to prevent it from happening.”

Inside the high school’s cafeteria, Health Department Commissioner Mike Totoraitis and Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Health Tyler Weber were helping oversee the final preparations for the screening clinic. They said  lead dust and paint are a target and the city’s youngest children are being prioritized for lead testing. “That’s not to minimize that there are other hazards here at the schools and potentially in the homes,” said Totoraitis. 

Although older children and adults will need to be included in testing eventually, it’s unclear how long that might take. The city is still re-grouping after plans to send specialized lead teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Milwaukee were cancelled by the Trump Administration. The teams would have helped with blood screening analysis to detect trends and gather more information. Totoraitis said that the health department has monitored citywide data for screenings, and has not noticed any new trends. Milwaukee is  also working with partners in other states including Ohio and Michigan. More parents have been taking their children to pediatricians to get tested, which is encouraging, Totoratis said. “That is the best way for parents to know if their child has been poisoned,” he said.

MPS assumes that lead paint exists in any building built before 1978, and the school district has 54 schools built before 1950. Addressing the full scale of the problem will take creativity, dedicated effort and time, health officials say. Weber said that although it’s good that positive tests since January have been relatively low, many more children still need to be evaluated. 

“Oftentimes, the children that we see tested aren’t always the children that need to be,” said Tyler, noting that although more than 1,200 children test positive annually, only 40-50% of children are tested who need to be.

Doss told Wisconsin Examiner that it can be difficult to convince parents to get their children tested. “It’s extremely challenging,” said Doss. “There are a lot of parents that’s lost hope and faith in the community as far as getting the children tested. They want to know what’s going to happen on the reaction. If they get their child tested, will they be actually judged if the child comes back with lead and they don’t know where the lead is coming from?” 

Doss said some parents fear that a positive lead test will lead to their homes being visited by authorities, or even that their children could be taken away. “So that’s why it’s very important to let the parents know that it’s nothing that they did. It’s in our environment, it’s in our water, it’s in the paint…The only way that you can help your child is to get your child tested to know if your child has it. And you need to get your child tested once a year. It’s very important.”

The scale of the problem, and a lack of capacity within the health department, creates stubborn obstacles. “And our old housing stock, the red-lining that’s happened over time, the disinvestment in communities, and so it’s a lot for a single department to get to the point where we get ahead of this,” Weber said.  “‘Cause it is devastating to have to see every day the results that come in from different children, and respond to those.” 

Weber added that ideally lead levels in soil, homes, water and human bodies would be zero. “We’re an old city with a lot of deeply rooted challenges, and there’s a lot of work that we have to do collectively.”

The crime scene around King Park in Milwaukee, where Sam Sharpe was killed by out-of-state police from Ohio. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that five officers from the Columbus, Ohio, police department will not be charged in the fatal shooting of Sam Sharpe, a man who was killed by the out-of-state officers during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16. 

Sharpe, 43, returned to Milwaukee’s King Park, where he was living in a tent for the last time to gather his belongings and his dog Ices to avoid a man who’d allegedly begun harassing and threatening him, according to Sharpe’s family. Sharpe, who was remembered as positive and well-liked by other King Park residents, shared a fragile sense of shelter and community with numerous other unhoused locals. But when he encountered his alleged harasser that summer day, a confrontation ensued which ended in a volley of gunfire from police officers deployed to Milwaukee as part of the security force for the RNC. 

The day before the shooting, a group of housing rights activists, who had slept in King Park overnight, marched on the RNC. Law enforcement officials said after the shooting that the prior day’s protest had drawn the officers to King Park. Body camera footage showed the officers standing together just before the shooting, then noticing a fight occurring in the distance. The officers immediately unholstered their weapons and sprinted over, yelling commands before unleashing a torrent of gunfire. 

The district attorney’s May 5 letter detailing the decision not to issue charges states that five officers fired a total of 23 times. Each of the officers — identified as Sgt. Adam Groves and officers Nick Mason, Austin Enos, Karl Eiginger, and Canaan Dick — told investigators that they feared that Sharpe, who was armed with knives, was an imminent threat to the other person in the confrontation, identified only as “AB” in the district attorney’s letter. 

Within hours people gathered at the scene to mourn Sharpe, who was known and beloved by housing outreach advocates and his family. Body camera and surveillance footage leaked online, and people were already beginning to discuss the fact that Sharpe had been the Columbus PD’s eighth fatal shooting so far in 2024. Milwaukee police Chief Jeffrey Norman held a press conference, saying that the officers had acted to save a life. 

The investigation found that the officers’ use of deadly force was justified under Wisconsin law, to prevent imminent harm to a civilian, that Sharpe ignored commands to drop the knives he was carrying and that the officers had a reasonable fear for the civilian’s safety.

Milwaukee PD officials said prior to the convention that their intent was to have out-of-state officers placed in positions “where they’re not necessarily forward facing”, and that outside officers were to be accompanied by Milwaukee officers, and were not to make arrests unless in urgent circumstances where local officers weren’t available.

The investigation of Sharpe’s killing was led by the Greenfield PD as part of the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT), a local task force which investigates officer-involved deaths. Angelique Sharpe, Sam’s sister, recounted the day that detectives came to her mother’s home, escorted by Milwaukee officers. The department was already receiving criticism for not having accompanied the Columbus officers at King Park. 

“They didn’t really care,” Angelique Sharpe told Wisconsin Examiner. The detectives had few answers to the family’s questions, she said. After Sharpe’s death, his family said that he had been living in the park doing street preaching for the unhoused community, when he began getting harassed by a man who allegedly threatened to destroy his tent and harm his dog. Sharpe was generally in good spirits, his family said, but he suffered from illness including multiple sclerosis. Sharpe had returned to the park to gather his things and leave that day, his sister said, armed with knives because he was worried about his safety. 

Angelique Sharpe told Wisconsin Examiner that MAIT detectives seemed uninterested in what she feels is important context. “I feel like nobody has really investigated this case fully for what it was. The only thing that they cared about was the actual shooting itself. Not anything that led up to it. Not why any of them were in the street, what led up to that, or what happened, or verifying that he was robbed and beat up,” Angelique said. “Nobody checked any of that stuff or cared about any of that stuff. All they cared about was the police [were] justified in the few seconds … and I just don’t feel like they was justified, because they should’ve never been there.”

Angelique blames the Columbus officers, who she feels acted in haste, as well as Milwaukee officials who assured residents ahead of the RNC that out-of-state law enforcement would not patrol neighborhoods unsupervised. “The whole case was handled poorly,” she said. 

The fallout from the shooting continues to weigh on the Sharpe family. Sam’s dog Ices was taken by animal control, much to the dismay of Sharpe’s family. Ices was eventually returned, and later found a new owner. 

Shortly after Sam died, someone mailed what appeared to be online court records of people with the last name “Sharpe” to the family, with a mocking letter saying “another criminal off the street,” Angelique told Wisconsin Examiner. Months passed before the family was able to obtain a death certificate, and organize a proper funeral for Sam, because of the ongoing investigation. Angelique said their mother’s health declined as  the whole ordeal took a toll. 

In a press release put out by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Angelique Sharpe stated that her brother was found to have been shot 23 times, yet sustained 34 wounds. “The math ain’t matching,” she said. “It’s a miscarriage of justice and gross neglect of oversight on the part of MPD, who lied to the public to let killer cops run loose in one of the most vulnerable communities in our city. My brother’s blood is on your hands regardless of the law continuing to support murderers behind badges.”

After the district attorney received MAIT’s investigation for review, prosecutors met with Sharpe’s family members and their attorneys at the Greenfield Police Department. It became clear to the family that prosecutors were leaning toward not charging the officers, and that the shooting officers had retained lawyers. All of the involved officers refused to have their interviews recorded. 

Attorney Nate Cade, who represents the Sharpe family, said that a lack of recorded interviews is a common frustration, as police investigated by MAIT have the option to forego them. “They don’t record, they dictate what they think they hear,” Cade told Wisconsin Examiner. Cade agrees with the Sharpe family that the lack of a Milwaukee police escort for the Columbus officers led to an avoidable escalation.

The Sharpe family is considering bringing a civil case. Protest actions are planned in the coming days.

“From the moment it was announced that the RNC would be held in Milwaukee, the community was clear,” the Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said in a press release, “we do not want outside law enforcement agencies unleashed on our community.” The Alliance blamed local officials, including Mayor Calvalier Johnson and Chief Norman, for welcoming  the RNC to  Milwaukee. 

Protesters gather to march in Milwaukee on May Day, voicing opposition to President Donald Trump's policies. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

A massive May Day protest stretched along multiple city blocks in Milwaukee, as marchers walked from the South Side to Zeidler Union Square Park in downtown. The annual protest brought union organizers, immigrant rights advocates, Indigenous community activists, students from across Wisconsin and other members of the public together to make a stand against the policies of President Donald Trump.

Despite rainy weather, hundreds of participants turned out for Milwaukee’s May Day march, with another protest planned in Madison on Friday. Prior to the march, the morning began with prayers and words from community leaders. Mark Denning, a member of the Oneida Nation, said to the crowd on Thursday that “all prayer goes to the same place” and that “all creation stories are true.” Denning said, “as we stand here together under this sheltering sky that’s giving us this beautiful rain…I want to share that your ancestors are forever. Your future is forever.” 

“Natives stand as a lesson to each and every one of you that the injustices of the past cannot be the injustices of the future,” said Denning, calling himself “a remnant of the wars that have been done on my people” and the May Day marchers “a remnant of the wars that must be corrected.” Denning went on to tell the crowd “you are now of this place! You are now of this land, and of these waters! And you will not be denied because this is where your children will be born and have a future!” The crowd cheered in response.

Although the May 1 march for immigrant workers’ rights is an annual tradition in Milwaukee, this year brought with it a new sense of fear buffered by local determination. Waves of arrests have swept communities nationwide, populating social media feeds with images of immigrants and  international students detained by masked, plain-clothes federal agents.

In Milwaukee, local advocates recently learned that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been paying visits to the homes of sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant minors, causing fear of possible deportations. After ICE raids at the Milwaukee County Courthouse provoked outrage, Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested and accused of obstructing federal agents who arrived outside her courtroom to arrest a man appearing for a hearing. Protests erupted the weekend after Dugan was arrested, building momentum leading up to the May Day march.

Milwaukee marchers  joined a larger network of groups organizing May Day protests in at least 32 states. Rain showers came and went as the marchers traversed the city. People of all ages came out, including  high school students and their young siblings and grey-haired elders. Different sections of the march had different chants and atmospheres. Palestinian flags waved in the breeze alongside American flags (some of which were upside down), Mexican flags, LGBTQ+ flags, and numerous other banners. Milwaukee police officers escorted the demonstration on motorcycles and bicycles, while unmarked surveillance vans patrolled  the perimeter. 

Within an hour, the marchers arrived at Zeidler Union Square Park in the downtown area. Gathering around a central pavilion, the crowd listened to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, who said people had come from as far away as Arcadia in Trempealeau County to be part of the event. “We know that when we unite we are stronger, and we can achieve what seems impossible,” said Neumann-Ortiz.

Speakers called for the charges to be dropped against Dugan, for ICE to stay out of local courts, for constitutional rights to be defended and for people to take a stand against fear. Missy Zombor, president of the Milwaukee Public School Board, said that the school district is ready to honor and fight for the ideals and sense of hope that her own grandparents sought when they immigrated to America. 

Zombor said that the school district will honor its safe haven resolution. “Our schools are and will always be safe havens for children,” she said, “regardless of their background, their immigration status, their identity, or their circumstance.” The Milwaukee Public School District, Zombor said, is strengthened by the diverse languages, cultures and backgrounds of  the student body, which includes many student activists. “Our schools are going to continue to promote a curriculum that gives students the knowledge and power to question the world in a way that helps students uproot the causes of racism and inequality,” said Zombor. “Our schools are going to teach the next generation of change-makers.” 

Former Milwaukee judge Jim Gramling Jr. called Dugan’s arrest “a very unfortunate and very dangerous thing.” Gramling said that the unusual, public arrest of a judge at the courthouse “was clearly designed to intimidate other judges and those who seek justice in our courts.” He added  that federal authorities had a week to invite Dugan into the U.S. Attorney’s Office to discuss the case. Instead, Gramling said, “they wanted a public display to embarrass her, to humiliate her, and to intimidate others in the justice system from resolving immigration matters.” 

Gramling stressed that judges need to be free of pressure from outside influences, so that they can decide cases based on the facts before them. “And yet we have a president who’s threatening the firing of judges, because of decisions that he doesn’t like,” said Gramling. “And now we have a judge treated like a common criminal by that president’s agents.” Dugan is a long-time and respected member of the community, Gramling said, having served in  leadership roles at local non-profits  and that she doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her. 

Milwaukee student activists also spoke, saying that student voices should not be stifled, and that free speech means little when young people fear retaliation. The students called for Milwaukee police officers to be taken out of Milwaukee Public Schools. Removing school resources officers was a decision made by the school board after years of student organizing. But the state Legislature has demanded that Milwaukee return police to schools as a condition of state aid.  

Immigration operations add a new layer of fear for students who already dread the return of school resource officers. Milwaukee police have a standard operating procedure which limits the department’s  involvement in immigration matters, stating that “proactive immigration enforcement by local police can be detrimental to our mission and policing philosophy when doing so deters some individuals from participating in their civic obligation to assist the police.” 

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) students joined the May Day march, denouncing ICE and encouraging people to stand in solidarity with immigrants. “Don’t let fear imprison you in the shadows,” one student said from the stage. “Join us. We will keep each other safe.”

The Milwaukee County Courthouse (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Update: ICE spokespeople directed Wisconsin Examiner to a post made on X (formerly known as Twitter) announcing the arrest of Kevin Lopez, 36, a Mexican citizen, who the post said is facing state charges of sexual assault of a minor, and sexual assault of an unconscious victim. The post states that Lopez had been previously arrested by local authorities for cannabis possession. Online court records confirm the charges against Lopez.

Another Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest was made at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on May 7. Chief Judge Carl Ashley said he was told the arrest occurred after a court hearing. Since March, at least four people have been arrested for immigration enforcement in or near the courthouse. Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was charged with obstruction after escorting a man sought by ICE into a public hallway outside her courtroom. 

The identity of the person arrested Wednesday has not been released. ICE officials have been unable to provide information at this time to Wisconsin Examiner.

In late March, Marco Cruz-Garcia, 24, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in the courthouse as he appeared in family court on a domestic violence restraining order. In a statement, ICE accused Cruz-Garcia of being a known member of the “Sureños transnational criminal street gang,” and cited his 2020 deportation order by a judge.  

Edwin Bustamante-Sierre, 27, a Nicaraguan citizen, was arrested days after Cruz-Garcia on April 3. ICE said in a statement that Bustamante-Sierre had been charged with reckless driving, endangering safety, reckless use of a firearm, use of a dangerous weapon and cocaine possession in Fond du Lac County and Milwaukee County.

On April 18, agents arrested Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, a Mexican immigrant lacking permanent legal status, who faced three misdemeanor domestic battery charges. 

The arrest of Flores-Ruiz led to Judge Dugan’s arrest. On April 25, Dugan was arrested outside the courthouse, with agents leading the judge to an unmarked squad car in handcuffs. Protests erupted that day and over the weekend at the FBI Milwaukee office, which conducted a speedy investigation into Dugan, after right-wing media outlets claimed to have broken a story about Dugan helping the man evade ICE by leading him out a side door in  her courtroom.

A bipartisan letter from judges around the country objected to the unusual, high-profile arrest and “perp walk” of Dugan. 

Local officials in Milwaukee have spoken out against the ICE arrests at the courthouse, saying they are disrupting proceedings as community members seek crucial services and are discouraging people from coming to court.

Kristen Payne, a member of Lead Safe Schools MKE. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Update: The Milwaukee Health Department announced Thursday that 22 children were screened at the clinic, and two needed follow-up blood tests. The department said in a statement the turnout was lower than officials had hoped for, but that the department will host additional school-based screening clinics. The department also is advising families to visit pop-up clinics at Children’s Wisconsin hospital’s Next Door Clinic and the Sixteenth Street Health Center Community Outreach program.

As a lead screening clinic was being set up inside Milwaukee’s North Division High School Wednesday, a coalition of parents, teachers and locals gathered outside to voice their frustrations about the response to lead contamination in Milwaukee Public School’s (MPS). The group had gathered to “demand that lead contamination in our schools, our city and our state, be urgently and effectively addressed in a manner consistent with health science data,” said Kristen Payne, a member of Lead Safe Schools MKE, during a press conference outside the high school. 

The press conference brought together several groups including Lead Safe Schools MKE, Freshwater for Life Action Coalition, Get the Lead Out and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. Inside North Division, the  Milwaukee Health Department set up a clinic in the cafeteria and prepared to screen up to 300 children. Concern over lead in MPS buildings has grown since January, after a student was reportedly poisoned. Just under 400 MPS students have been tested and several schools temporarily closed due to lead hazards so far this year.

“Testing our kids for lead poisoning is important, and it’s also not nearly enough,” Payne said. “Until the district, city and state work proactively to address root causes of lead exposure, these testing clinics will do little to prevent exposure of a harmful toxin.” Every year, more than 1,200 children in the city of Milwaukee test positive for lead poisoning, with an average age of 3 years old. With over 70,000 MPS students among the tens of thousands of children in the city, ensuring that enough children are getting tested can be challenging.

Katie Doss is the grandmother of one of those children who tested positive. “She was hospitalized,” said Doss, and  received a blood transfusion. The experience led  Doss to work with the Coalition on Lead Emergency (COLE) and city officials to help get as many children tested as possible. She eventually became a lead program coordinator. “Since then, I’ve got over 400 children tested,” said Doss.

Doss wasn’t alone. “I believe that my grandchildren have the right to go to school without the threat of exposure to lead,” said Maria Beltran, a local resident, grandmother and member of Freshwater for Life Action Coalition. “Lead exposure in children, like my entire family and myself — I have seven kids, seven grandchildren, and married — lead exposure in children can damage the brain and nervous system, cause developmental delays, learning challenges, behavioral issues, [and] hearing loss. Also in adults, lead exposure and lead poisoning can cause high blood pressure, kidney damage, brain damage, miscarriage, and infertility that I have experienced in my entire family as well.”

The group of parents and residents that joined Payne expressed their feeling  that MPS and the Health Department have been more reactive than protective when it comes to addressing lead contamination. Some questioned why only elementary schools, and not middle and high schools, are the focus of current testing and remediation efforts. Others felt that they’d been left in the dark as to how lead poisoning affected their loved ones, or felt that school officials were sending out last-minute warnings to parents about lead hazards. Such notifications often came as emails, sent in the evening hours or  near weekend days, parents at the press conference said. 

The coalition demanded that MPS test all buildings for lead in dust, paint, water and soil. Additionally, the group called on the school district to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for lead-in-water readings <1.0 (parts per billion), and for better lines of communication to be established between school officials and parents. The group further demanded that the MPS Board of Directors pass a recently introduced lead-safety resolution, that city departments implement more proactive measures and that Gov. Tony Evers and the Legislature help remediate lead in schools statewide. 

Melody McCurtis, deputy director and lead organizer of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, said that city officials are concerned with “growing the city without repairing the past harm that the current residents in this city is facing, especially in terms of lead.” McCurtis added,  “This city is prioritizing policing in our schools, prioritizing more than half of our city budget going to the police, but not going to prevention of crises like the lead crisis. It is going to take more than the Milwaukee Public School, the Health Department, and the city elected officials to come together to not just treat the issue, but to prevent it from happening.”

Inside the high school’s cafeteria, Health Department Commissioner Mike Totoraitis and Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Health Tyler Weber were helping oversee the final preparations for the screening clinic. They said  lead dust and paint are a target and the city’s youngest children are being prioritized for lead testing. “That’s not to minimize that there are other hazards here at the schools and potentially in the homes,” said Totoraitis. 

Although older children and adults will need to be included in testing eventually, it’s unclear how long that might take. The city is still re-grouping after plans to send specialized lead teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Milwaukee were cancelled by the Trump Administration. The teams would have helped with blood screening analysis to detect trends and gather more information. Totoraitis said that the health department has monitored citywide data for screenings, and has not noticed any new trends. Milwaukee is  also working with partners in other states including Ohio and Michigan. More parents have been taking their children to pediatricians to get tested, which is encouraging, Totoratis said. “That is the best way for parents to know if their child has been poisoned,” he said.

MPS assumes that lead paint exists in any building built before 1978, and the school district has 54 schools built before 1950. Addressing the full scale of the problem will take creativity, dedicated effort and time, health officials say. Weber said that although it’s good that positive tests since January have been relatively low, many more children still need to be evaluated. 

“Oftentimes, the children that we see tested aren’t always the children that need to be,” said Tyler, noting that although more than 1,200 children test positive annually, only 40-50% of children are tested who need to be.

Doss told Wisconsin Examiner that it can be difficult to convince parents to get their children tested. “It’s extremely challenging,” said Doss. “There are a lot of parents that’s lost hope and faith in the community as far as getting the children tested. They want to know what’s going to happen on the reaction. If they get their child tested, will they be actually judged if the child comes back with lead and they don’t know where the lead is coming from?” 

Doss said some parents fear that a positive lead test will lead to their homes being visited by authorities, or even that their children could be taken away. “So that’s why it’s very important to let the parents know that it’s nothing that they did. It’s in our environment, it’s in our water, it’s in the paint…The only way that you can help your child is to get your child tested to know if your child has it. And you need to get your child tested once a year. It’s very important.”

The scale of the problem, and a lack of capacity within the health department, creates stubborn obstacles. “And our old housing stock, the red-lining that’s happened over time, the disinvestment in communities, and so it’s a lot for a single department to get to the point where we get ahead of this,” Weber said.  “‘Cause it is devastating to have to see every day the results that come in from different children, and respond to those.” 

Weber added that ideally lead levels in soil, homes, water and human bodies would be zero. “We’re an old city with a lot of deeply rooted challenges, and there’s a lot of work that we have to do collectively.”

The crime scene around King Park in Milwaukee, where Sam Sharpe was killed by out-of-state police from Ohio. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that five officers from the Columbus, Ohio, police department will not be charged in the fatal shooting of Sam Sharpe, a man who was killed by the out-of-state officers during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16. 

Sharpe, 43, returned to Milwaukee’s King Park, where he was living in a tent for the last time to gather his belongings and his dog Ices to avoid a man who’d allegedly begun harassing and threatening him, according to Sharpe’s family. Sharpe, who was remembered as positive and well-liked by other King Park residents, shared a fragile sense of shelter and community with numerous other unhoused locals. But when he encountered his alleged harasser that summer day, a confrontation ensued which ended in a volley of gunfire from police officers deployed to Milwaukee as part of the security force for the RNC. 

The day before the shooting, a group of housing rights activists, who had slept in King Park overnight, marched on the RNC. Law enforcement officials said after the shooting that the prior day’s protest had drawn the officers to King Park. Body camera footage showed the officers standing together just before the shooting, then noticing a fight occurring in the distance. The officers immediately unholstered their weapons and sprinted over, yelling commands before unleashing a torrent of gunfire. 

The district attorney’s May 5 letter detailing the decision not to issue charges states that five officers fired a total of 23 times. Each of the officers — identified as Sgt. Adam Groves and officers Nick Mason, Austin Enos, Karl Eiginger, and Canaan Dick — told investigators that they feared that Sharpe, who was armed with knives, was an imminent threat to the other person in the confrontation, identified only as “AB” in the district attorney’s letter. 

Within hours people gathered at the scene to mourn Sharpe, who was known and beloved by housing outreach advocates and his family. Body camera and surveillance footage leaked online, and people were already beginning to discuss the fact that Sharpe had been the Columbus PD’s eighth fatal shooting so far in 2024. Milwaukee police Chief Jeffrey Norman held a press conference, saying that the officers had acted to save a life. 

The investigation found that the officers’ use of deadly force was justified under Wisconsin law, to prevent imminent harm to a civilian, that Sharpe ignored commands to drop the knives he was carrying and that the officers had a reasonable fear for the civilian’s safety.

Milwaukee PD officials said prior to the convention that their intent was to have out-of-state officers placed in positions “where they’re not necessarily forward facing”, and that outside officers were to be accompanied by Milwaukee officers, and were not to make arrests unless in urgent circumstances where local officers weren’t available.

The investigation of Sharpe’s killing was led by the Greenfield PD as part of the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT), a local task force which investigates officer-involved deaths. Angelique Sharpe, Sam’s sister, recounted the day that detectives came to her mother’s home, escorted by Milwaukee officers. The department was already receiving criticism for not having accompanied the Columbus officers at King Park. 

“They didn’t really care,” Angelique Sharpe told Wisconsin Examiner. The detectives had few answers to the family’s questions, she said. After Sharpe’s death, his family said that he had been living in the park doing street preaching for the unhoused community, when he began getting harassed by a man who allegedly threatened to destroy his tent and harm his dog. Sharpe was generally in good spirits, his family said, but he suffered from illness including multiple sclerosis. Sharpe had returned to the park to gather his things and leave that day, his sister said, armed with knives because he was worried about his safety. 

Angelique Sharpe told Wisconsin Examiner that MAIT detectives seemed uninterested in what she feels is important context. “I feel like nobody has really investigated this case fully for what it was. The only thing that they cared about was the actual shooting itself. Not anything that led up to it. Not why any of them were in the street, what led up to that, or what happened, or verifying that he was robbed and beat up,” Angelique said. “Nobody checked any of that stuff or cared about any of that stuff. All they cared about was the police [were] justified in the few seconds … and I just don’t feel like they was justified, because they should’ve never been there.”

Angelique blames the Columbus officers, who she feels acted in haste, as well as Milwaukee officials who assured residents ahead of the RNC that out-of-state law enforcement would not patrol neighborhoods unsupervised. “The whole case was handled poorly,” she said. 

The fallout from the shooting continues to weigh on the Sharpe family. Sam’s dog Ices was taken by animal control, much to the dismay of Sharpe’s family. Ices was eventually returned, and later found a new owner. 

Shortly after Sam died, someone mailed what appeared to be online court records of people with the last name “Sharpe” to the family, with a mocking letter saying “another criminal off the street,” Angelique told Wisconsin Examiner. Months passed before the family was able to obtain a death certificate, and organize a proper funeral for Sam, because of the ongoing investigation. Angelique said their mother’s health declined as  the whole ordeal took a toll. 

In a press release put out by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Angelique Sharpe stated that her brother was found to have been shot 23 times, yet sustained 34 wounds. “The math ain’t matching,” she said. “It’s a miscarriage of justice and gross neglect of oversight on the part of MPD, who lied to the public to let killer cops run loose in one of the most vulnerable communities in our city. My brother’s blood is on your hands regardless of the law continuing to support murderers behind badges.”

After the district attorney received MAIT’s investigation for review, prosecutors met with Sharpe’s family members and their attorneys at the Greenfield Police Department. It became clear to the family that prosecutors were leaning toward not charging the officers, and that the shooting officers had retained lawyers. All of the involved officers refused to have their interviews recorded. 

Attorney Nate Cade, who represents the Sharpe family, said that a lack of recorded interviews is a common frustration, as police investigated by MAIT have the option to forego them. “They don’t record, they dictate what they think they hear,” Cade told Wisconsin Examiner. Cade agrees with the Sharpe family that the lack of a Milwaukee police escort for the Columbus officers led to an avoidable escalation.

The Sharpe family is considering bringing a civil case. Protest actions are planned in the coming days.

“From the moment it was announced that the RNC would be held in Milwaukee, the community was clear,” the Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said in a press release, “we do not want outside law enforcement agencies unleashed on our community.” The Alliance blamed local officials, including Mayor Calvalier Johnson and Chief Norman, for welcoming  the RNC to  Milwaukee. 

Protesters gather to march in Milwaukee on May Day, voicing opposition to President Donald Trump's policies. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

A massive May Day protest stretched along multiple city blocks in Milwaukee, as marchers walked from the South Side to Zeidler Union Square Park in downtown. The annual protest brought union organizers, immigrant rights advocates, Indigenous community activists, students from across Wisconsin and other members of the public together to make a stand against the policies of President Donald Trump.

Despite rainy weather, hundreds of participants turned out for Milwaukee’s May Day march, with another protest planned in Madison on Friday. Prior to the march, the morning began with prayers and words from community leaders. Mark Denning, a member of the Oneida Nation, said to the crowd on Thursday that “all prayer goes to the same place” and that “all creation stories are true.” Denning said, “as we stand here together under this sheltering sky that’s giving us this beautiful rain…I want to share that your ancestors are forever. Your future is forever.” 

“Natives stand as a lesson to each and every one of you that the injustices of the past cannot be the injustices of the future,” said Denning, calling himself “a remnant of the wars that have been done on my people” and the May Day marchers “a remnant of the wars that must be corrected.” Denning went on to tell the crowd “you are now of this place! You are now of this land, and of these waters! And you will not be denied because this is where your children will be born and have a future!” The crowd cheered in response.

Although the May 1 march for immigrant workers’ rights is an annual tradition in Milwaukee, this year brought with it a new sense of fear buffered by local determination. Waves of arrests have swept communities nationwide, populating social media feeds with images of immigrants and  international students detained by masked, plain-clothes federal agents.

In Milwaukee, local advocates recently learned that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been paying visits to the homes of sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant minors, causing fear of possible deportations. After ICE raids at the Milwaukee County Courthouse provoked outrage, Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested and accused of obstructing federal agents who arrived outside her courtroom to arrest a man appearing for a hearing. Protests erupted the weekend after Dugan was arrested, building momentum leading up to the May Day march.

Milwaukee marchers  joined a larger network of groups organizing May Day protests in at least 32 states. Rain showers came and went as the marchers traversed the city. People of all ages came out, including  high school students and their young siblings and grey-haired elders. Different sections of the march had different chants and atmospheres. Palestinian flags waved in the breeze alongside American flags (some of which were upside down), Mexican flags, LGBTQ+ flags, and numerous other banners. Milwaukee police officers escorted the demonstration on motorcycles and bicycles, while unmarked surveillance vans patrolled  the perimeter. 

Within an hour, the marchers arrived at Zeidler Union Square Park in the downtown area. Gathering around a central pavilion, the crowd listened to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, who said people had come from as far away as Arcadia in Trempealeau County to be part of the event. “We know that when we unite we are stronger, and we can achieve what seems impossible,” said Neumann-Ortiz.

Speakers called for the charges to be dropped against Dugan, for ICE to stay out of local courts, for constitutional rights to be defended and for people to take a stand against fear. Missy Zombor, president of the Milwaukee Public School Board, said that the school district is ready to honor and fight for the ideals and sense of hope that her own grandparents sought when they immigrated to America. 

Zombor said that the school district will honor its safe haven resolution. “Our schools are and will always be safe havens for children,” she said, “regardless of their background, their immigration status, their identity, or their circumstance.” The Milwaukee Public School District, Zombor said, is strengthened by the diverse languages, cultures and backgrounds of  the student body, which includes many student activists. “Our schools are going to continue to promote a curriculum that gives students the knowledge and power to question the world in a way that helps students uproot the causes of racism and inequality,” said Zombor. “Our schools are going to teach the next generation of change-makers.” 

Former Milwaukee judge Jim Gramling Jr. called Dugan’s arrest “a very unfortunate and very dangerous thing.” Gramling said that the unusual, public arrest of a judge at the courthouse “was clearly designed to intimidate other judges and those who seek justice in our courts.” He added  that federal authorities had a week to invite Dugan into the U.S. Attorney’s Office to discuss the case. Instead, Gramling said, “they wanted a public display to embarrass her, to humiliate her, and to intimidate others in the justice system from resolving immigration matters.” 

Gramling stressed that judges need to be free of pressure from outside influences, so that they can decide cases based on the facts before them. “And yet we have a president who’s threatening the firing of judges, because of decisions that he doesn’t like,” said Gramling. “And now we have a judge treated like a common criminal by that president’s agents.” Dugan is a long-time and respected member of the community, Gramling said, having served in  leadership roles at local non-profits  and that she doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her. 

Milwaukee student activists also spoke, saying that student voices should not be stifled, and that free speech means little when young people fear retaliation. The students called for Milwaukee police officers to be taken out of Milwaukee Public Schools. Removing school resources officers was a decision made by the school board after years of student organizing. But the state Legislature has demanded that Milwaukee return police to schools as a condition of state aid.  

Immigration operations add a new layer of fear for students who already dread the return of school resource officers. Milwaukee police have a standard operating procedure which limits the department’s  involvement in immigration matters, stating that “proactive immigration enforcement by local police can be detrimental to our mission and policing philosophy when doing so deters some individuals from participating in their civic obligation to assist the police.” 

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) students joined the May Day march, denouncing ICE and encouraging people to stand in solidarity with immigrants. “Don’t let fear imprison you in the shadows,” one student said from the stage. “Join us. We will keep each other safe.”

Protesters gather outside the Federal Building in Milwaukee to denounce the arrest of Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Friday, April 25. Groups that took part in the demonstration say Dugan's arrest has given new gravity to this year's protests planned for May Day in support of immigrants and workers. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Leaders of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a national network of immigration reform activists, held a virtual press conference Wednesday, ahead of a nationwide day of action on May 1. Although May Day demonstrations are held annually, this year the protests carry a new gravity. Leaders of organizations including FAIR, composed of 38 immigrant-led groups across 32 states, drew attention to the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, and growing concerns about the Trump Administration targeting immigrant communities. 

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Voces de la Frontera, said momentum to resist Trump’s  policies has grown after the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election. “It was a resounding defeat at the voting booth for Trump’s endorsed candidate for our state Supreme Court race, and a resounding rejection of Elon Musk’s blatant efforts to buy our election,” Neumann-Ortiz said during the Wednesday press conference.

After the election, Wisconsinites mobilized to participate in mass protests against Trump and Musk’s firing of federal workers and canceling of federal programs. United, mass actions, Neumann-Ortiz said, will be crucial in the days ahead. The May Day protest, she said, “really represents the next iteration in this warring resistance to Trump’s efforts to impose dictatorship in this country, and to really challenge the scapegoating of immigrants and refugees for social inequality [while]  he is contributing to significantly widening that gap.” 

May Day also will be an important platform to build alliances between working-class people, she said. Neumann-Ortiz said communities in Wisconsin had recently experienced “an operation that was being conducted by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigators under so-called ‘wellness checks’ of unaccompanied [immigrant] minors and their sponsors’ homes.” 

Voces de la Fronterea learned of the operation through a 24/7 immigration emergency hotline the group operates. Neumann-Ortiz told Wisconsin Examiner that Voces de la Frontera is aware of such cases in Milwaukee, Whitewater, and Waukesha. The group had received a call involving an 8th grade student who was home alone when several armed agents arrived, allegedly saying they didn’t need a judicial warrant to enter. 

“So again, it was just these manipulative tactics,” Neumann-Ortiz told Wisconsin Examiner. After Voces de la Frontera was contacted, the group sent an immediate community response to assess what was going on. “What we uncovered is that basically this was an operation that’s being conducted to check in on unaccompanied minors who had come through and had a sponsor like, in this case, a family member. But again, this is not the role of the FBI. Their job is to target organized crime, or trafficking, things like that. They do not…This is not how any kind of wellness check is conducted. This is not the body…the agency that would do that.” 

Neumann-Ortiz said that Voces members insisted that if agents wanted to interview the minor, they should go to an attorney’s office to do the interview. “We do feel that this is, I would say, highly suspect in terms of what could unfold.”

Wisconsin Examiner reached out to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offices in Milwaukee regarding the “wellness checks.” A FBI spokesperson said in an emailed statement that, “The FBI is assisting our partners including, Homeland Security Investigations and Office of Refugee Resettlement, with a nationwide effort to conduct welfare checks on thousands of unaccompanied children who have been identified as crossing the border without a parent or legal guardian. Sadly, children crossing the border alone and living in the U.S. without the protection of a loving parent or guardian can be vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, and violence. Protecting children is a critical mission for the FBI and we will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to secure their safety and well-being.”

An ICE spokesperson said in an email the agency is “familiar” with the Wisconsin Examiner’s inquiry, and said to contact the Department of Homeland Security. In response to Wisconsin Examiner’s inquiry, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement, “The previous administration allowed many of these children who came across the border unaccompanied to be placed with sponsors who were actually smugglers and sex traffickers.” 

McLaughlin added, “DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited. Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families. In less than 100 days, Secretary Noem and Secretary Kennedy have already reunited over 5,000 unaccompanied children with a relative or safe guardian.”

Since late March, at least three people have been arrested by ICE agents as they appeared at the Milwaukee County Courthouse for routine proceedings. The most recent arrest also resulted in an FBI investigation being launched against Judge Dugan, who federal agencies accuse of obstructing their effort to arrest a man who was appearing before her. The arrest drew thousands of people into the streets to support Dugan. On Saturday, April 26, over 1,200 people gathered outside the Milwaukee FBI office, decrying Dugan’s arrest as authoritarian, fascist, and inconsistent with American values. 

On the press conference call Wednesday, Neumann-Ortiz was joined by leaders of FIRM-member organizations from across the country. May Day protests are expected in states across the country. David Chiles, interim executive director of Sunflower Community Action in Kansas said Trump’s policies are “a race to the bottom” and “a war on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself.” Chiles said that on Thursday, “we’re fighting back.” Cathryn Jackson, public policy director of CASA, who will march with groups toward the White House, said, “Immigrants and allies are rising up to say ‘enough is enough.’  May 1, international day of action, we are joining hundreds of marches, rallies, walk-outs, demonstrations with one very clear unified message” — One struggle, one fight, workers unite.

Protesters gather outside the Federal Building in Milwaukee to denounce the arrest of Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Friday, April 25. Groups that took part in the demonstration say Dugan's arrest has given new gravity to this year's protests planned for May Day in support of immigrants and workers. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Leaders of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a national network of immigration reform activists, held a virtual press conference Wednesday, ahead of a nationwide day of action on May 1. Although May Day demonstrations are held annually, this year the protests carry a new gravity. Leaders of organizations including FAIR, composed of 38 immigrant-led groups across 32 states, drew attention to the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, and growing concerns about the Trump Administration targeting immigrant communities. 

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Voces de la Frontera, said momentum to resist Trump’s  policies has grown after the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election. “It was a resounding defeat at the voting booth for Trump’s endorsed candidate for our state Supreme Court race, and a resounding rejection of Elon Musk’s blatant efforts to buy our election,” Neumann-Ortiz said during the Wednesday press conference.

After the election, Wisconsinites mobilized to participate in mass protests against Trump and Musk’s firing of federal workers and canceling of federal programs. United, mass actions, Neumann-Ortiz said, will be crucial in the days ahead. The May Day protest, she said, “really represents the next iteration in this warring resistance to Trump’s efforts to impose dictatorship in this country, and to really challenge the scapegoating of immigrants and refugees for social inequality [while]  he is contributing to significantly widening that gap.” 

May Day also will be an important platform to build alliances between working-class people, she said. Neumann-Ortiz said communities in Wisconsin had recently experienced “an operation that was being conducted by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigators under so-called ‘wellness checks’ of unaccompanied [immigrant] minors and their sponsors’ homes.” 

Voces de la Fronterea learned of the operation through a 24/7 immigration emergency hotline the group operates. Neumann-Ortiz told Wisconsin Examiner that Voces de la Frontera is aware of such cases in Milwaukee, Whitewater, and Waukesha. The group had received a call involving an 8th grade student who was home alone when several armed agents arrived, allegedly saying they didn’t need a judicial warrant to enter. 

“So again, it was just these manipulative tactics,” Neumann-Ortiz told Wisconsin Examiner. After Voces de la Frontera was contacted, the group sent an immediate community response to assess what was going on. “What we uncovered is that basically this was an operation that’s being conducted to check in on unaccompanied minors who had come through and had a sponsor like, in this case, a family member. But again, this is not the role of the FBI. Their job is to target organized crime, or trafficking, things like that. They do not…This is not how any kind of wellness check is conducted. This is not the body…the agency that would do that.” 

Neumann-Ortiz said that Voces members insisted that if agents wanted to interview the minor, they should go to an attorney’s office to do the interview. “We do feel that this is, I would say, highly suspect in terms of what could unfold.”

Wisconsin Examiner reached out to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offices in Milwaukee regarding the “wellness checks.” A FBI spokesperson said in an emailed statement that, “The FBI is assisting our partners including, Homeland Security Investigations and Office of Refugee Resettlement, with a nationwide effort to conduct welfare checks on thousands of unaccompanied children who have been identified as crossing the border without a parent or legal guardian. Sadly, children crossing the border alone and living in the U.S. without the protection of a loving parent or guardian can be vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, and violence. Protecting children is a critical mission for the FBI and we will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to secure their safety and well-being.”

An ICE spokesperson said in an email the agency is “familiar” with the Wisconsin Examiner’s inquiry, and said to contact the Department of Homeland Security. In response to Wisconsin Examiner’s inquiry, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement, “The previous administration allowed many of these children who came across the border unaccompanied to be placed with sponsors who were actually smugglers and sex traffickers.” 

McLaughlin added, “DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited. Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families. In less than 100 days, Secretary Noem and Secretary Kennedy have already reunited over 5,000 unaccompanied children with a relative or safe guardian.”

Since late March, at least three people have been arrested by ICE agents as they appeared at the Milwaukee County Courthouse for routine proceedings. The most recent arrest also resulted in an FBI investigation being launched against Judge Dugan, who federal agencies accuse of obstructing their effort to arrest a man who was appearing before her. The arrest drew thousands of people into the streets to support Dugan. On Saturday, April 26, over 1,200 people gathered outside the Milwaukee FBI office, decrying Dugan’s arrest as authoritarian, fascist, and inconsistent with American values. 

On the press conference call Wednesday, Neumann-Ortiz was joined by leaders of FIRM-member organizations from across the country. May Day protests are expected in states across the country. David Chiles, interim executive director of Sunflower Community Action in Kansas said Trump’s policies are “a race to the bottom” and “a war on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself.” Chiles said that on Thursday, “we’re fighting back.” Cathryn Jackson, public policy director of CASA, who will march with groups toward the White House, said, “Immigrants and allies are rising up to say ‘enough is enough.’  May 1, international day of action, we are joining hundreds of marches, rallies, walk-outs, demonstrations with one very clear unified message” — One struggle, one fight, workers unite.

Protesters gather outside of the Federal Building in Milwaukee to denounce the arrest of Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

After the arrest of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan by federal agents Friday morning, the city’s political and activist communities responded forcefully, protesting against the arrest across the city. 

Dugan was charged with obstruction of justice and harboring an individual after a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents showed up outside of her courtroom last week to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant accused of misdemeanor battery. 

The criminal complaint against Durgan alleges she broke the law by allowing Flores-Ruiz to use a side door in her courtroom to exit without going past the agents. The agents saw him leave and later apprehended him on foot. 

While a larger protest took place outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, local resident Jeneca Wolski stood alone outside of the county courthouse where Dugan was arrested.

“[I’m] just a local citizen who is horrified that we are finding ourselves in this position right now,” Wolski told the Wisconsin Examiner. “We’re sliding downhill so fast. I don’t want to be looked back on by history as part of it. We have to do everything we can to kick and fight and scream to save our democracy right now.” 

At a press conference, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley accused the administration of President Donald Trump of acting to intimidate “anyone who opposes these policies.” Crowley added that Dugan was arrested by a “large, performative showing” of federal agents in the county courthouse. 

 “We have an obligation to administer our courts in a safe, efficient manner that delivers due process for anyone,” Crowley said. “The Trump administration’s actions are clearly preventing us from doing so by intimidating judges and eroding public faith in our judicial system.” 

People gathered outside the federal courthouse in Milwaukee Friday afternoon to protest Dugan’s arrest. At the rally, Christine Neumann Ortiz, executive director of immigrant rights group Voces De La Frontera, told the Wisconsin Examiner the Trump administration was trying to undermine efforts to oppose its immigration policies.

“They basically want to be unleashed to do whatever they want to commit these raids in courtrooms across the country,” she said. “They don’t want any resistance from judges or from the community standing up for people’s due process rights or limiting their policies of mass deportation and racism.”

Seven of the city of Milwaukee’s legislative representatives said in a joint statement that Dugan’s arrest and ICE operating inside the courthouse will “lead to a breakdown of civil society.”

“The County Courthouse is a sanctuary for justice and peace where the accused come forward willingly in a fair and unbiased process,” said the lawmakers, Sens. Chris Larson and Tim Carpenter and Reps. Christine Sinicki, Darrin Madison, Supreme Moore Omokunde, Angelito Tenorio and Sequanna Taylor. “Arresting people out of a courtroom will lead to a breakdown of civil society. We do not support the presence of ICE in places where it will lead to intimidation against witnesses and victims of crimes, denying everyone involved the justice they deserve.”

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned how Dugan’s arrest makes the country safer. 

“The Trump Administration continues to test the limits of our Constitution — this time by arresting a sitting judge for allegedly obstructing an immigration operation at the courthouse,” Durbin said. “When immigration enforcement officials interfere with our criminal justice system, it undermines public safety, prevents victims and witnesses from coming forward, and often prevents those who committed crimes from facing justice in the United States. How does this make America any safer? How does arresting a sitting judge make America any safer? It is imperative that Judge Dugan is afforded due process and the presumption of innocence, as required by our Constitution and her fundamental rights as an American.”

State Senate Minority Leader Diane Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and Sen. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, criticized the arrest in a joint statement. 

“Today’s arrest of a sitting judge, at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, is a frightening escalation of the Trump Administration’s attacks on America’s judicial system,” they said. “This is part of a pattern by this Administration – defying court orders, flouting the democratic system of checks and balances, ignoring the right to due process, and threatening judicial independence – that alarms us as legislators and as residents of this great state and this great country. We will follow this case closely. We will continue to stand up to lawless and unconstitutional actions. And, we will always fight for a bedrock principle of American democracy: equal justice under the law.”

The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, an activist group, was planning protests Friday afternoon outside the federal courthouse and Saturday outside the FBI’s Milwaukee field office. In a statement, the group said the arrest was a “heinous attack.” 

“They are seeking to send a clear message: either you play along with Trump’s agenda, or pay the consequences,” the group said. “During this period of racist and political repression, we must stand together to denounce today’s actions by the FBI. What happened to Dugan is not new. The FBI and other agencies have been emboldened in recent months, snatching people off the streets, separating families, terrorizing communities, breaking doors down of pro-Palestine activists, and contributing to the unjust deportation of immigrants who don’t have criminal records. What is new is that they have gone after a judge.”

Protesters gather outside of the Federal Building in Milwaukee to denounce the arrest of Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

After the arrest of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan by federal agents Friday morning, the city’s political and activist communities responded forcefully, protesting against the arrest across the city. 

Dugan was charged with obstruction of justice and harboring an individual after a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents showed up outside of her courtroom last week to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant accused of misdemeanor battery. 

The criminal complaint against Durgan alleges she broke the law by allowing Flores-Ruiz to use a side door in her courtroom to exit without going past the agents. The agents saw him leave and later apprehended him on foot. 

While a larger protest took place outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, local resident Jeneca Wolski stood alone outside of the county courthouse where Dugan was arrested.

“[I’m] just a local citizen who is horrified that we are finding ourselves in this position right now,” Wolski told the Wisconsin Examiner. “We’re sliding downhill so fast. I don’t want to be looked back on by history as part of it. We have to do everything we can to kick and fight and scream to save our democracy right now.” 

At a press conference, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley accused the administration of President Donald Trump of acting to intimidate “anyone who opposes these policies.” Crowley added that Dugan was arrested by a “large, performative showing” of federal agents in the county courthouse. 

 “We have an obligation to administer our courts in a safe, efficient manner that delivers due process for anyone,” Crowley said. “The Trump administration’s actions are clearly preventing us from doing so by intimidating judges and eroding public faith in our judicial system.” 

People gathered outside the federal courthouse in Milwaukee Friday afternoon to protest Dugan’s arrest. At the rally, Christine Neumann Ortiz, executive director of immigrant rights group Voces De La Frontera, told the Wisconsin Examiner the Trump administration was trying to undermine efforts to oppose its immigration policies.

“They basically want to be unleashed to do whatever they want to commit these raids in courtrooms across the country,” she said. “They don’t want any resistance from judges or from the community standing up for people’s due process rights or limiting their policies of mass deportation and racism.”

Seven of the city of Milwaukee’s legislative representatives said in a joint statement that Dugan’s arrest and ICE operating inside the courthouse will “lead to a breakdown of civil society.”

“The County Courthouse is a sanctuary for justice and peace where the accused come forward willingly in a fair and unbiased process,” said the lawmakers, Sens. Chris Larson and Tim Carpenter and Reps. Christine Sinicki, Darrin Madison, Supreme Moore Omokunde, Angelito Tenorio and Sequanna Taylor. “Arresting people out of a courtroom will lead to a breakdown of civil society. We do not support the presence of ICE in places where it will lead to intimidation against witnesses and victims of crimes, denying everyone involved the justice they deserve.”

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned how Dugan’s arrest makes the country safer. 

“The Trump Administration continues to test the limits of our Constitution — this time by arresting a sitting judge for allegedly obstructing an immigration operation at the courthouse,” Durbin said. “When immigration enforcement officials interfere with our criminal justice system, it undermines public safety, prevents victims and witnesses from coming forward, and often prevents those who committed crimes from facing justice in the United States. How does this make America any safer? How does arresting a sitting judge make America any safer? It is imperative that Judge Dugan is afforded due process and the presumption of innocence, as required by our Constitution and her fundamental rights as an American.”

State Senate Minority Leader Diane Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and Sen. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, criticized the arrest in a joint statement. 

“Today’s arrest of a sitting judge, at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, is a frightening escalation of the Trump Administration’s attacks on America’s judicial system,” they said. “This is part of a pattern by this Administration – defying court orders, flouting the democratic system of checks and balances, ignoring the right to due process, and threatening judicial independence – that alarms us as legislators and as residents of this great state and this great country. We will follow this case closely. We will continue to stand up to lawless and unconstitutional actions. And, we will always fight for a bedrock principle of American democracy: equal justice under the law.”

The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, an activist group, was planning protests Friday afternoon outside the federal courthouse and Saturday outside the FBI’s Milwaukee field office. In a statement, the group said the arrest was a “heinous attack.” 

“They are seeking to send a clear message: either you play along with Trump’s agenda, or pay the consequences,” the group said. “During this period of racist and political repression, we must stand together to denounce today’s actions by the FBI. What happened to Dugan is not new. The FBI and other agencies have been emboldened in recent months, snatching people off the streets, separating families, terrorizing communities, breaking doors down of pro-Palestine activists, and contributing to the unjust deportation of immigrants who don’t have criminal records. What is new is that they have gone after a judge.”

Fort McCoy | Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner

The commander of Fort McCoy, a military base near Sparta, Wisconsin, has been suspended after a controversy over the base not displaying portraits of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In a statement, the U.S. Army said that Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez had been suspended as garrison commander at Fort McCoy. 

The statement said that the suspension “is not related to any misconduct,” though the base drew recent criticism for not displaying pictures of Trump and Hegseth, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of Defense posted a picture showing Trump’s portrait missing from  a leadership wall and Hegseth’s turned so only the back of the picture was visible. The post declared: “Regarding the Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy…. WE FIXED IT! Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened.”

Spokespeople from the Department of Defense and Fort McCoy’s 88th Readiness Division declined to comment, but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Ramirez has “not been relieved of command.” A subsequent statement on the U.S. Army’s website said that neither Ramirez nor anyone else on the fort’s leadership team had directed the removal of the portraits. After Ramirez was suspended, Hegseth shared a post on X mentioning the commander’s suspension. 

The Milwaukee County Courthouse. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents around the Milwaukee County Courthouse continue to spur controversy. Late last week, ICE agents arrested Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant accused of misdemeanor battery. Flores-Ruiz appeared in Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan’s court on April 18, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. 

Now, the FBI is investigating whether Dugan helped an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest after that immigrant appeared in her courtroom. Although the immigrant hasn’t been identified, Flores-Ruiz, whose immigration status is unclear, “appears to match the description,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

On April 23, Dugan declined to comment on the investigation or possible legal proceedings. ICE officials referred questions to the FBI’s Milwaukee office, which also declined to comment. The Journal Sentinel reported that an email sent by Chief Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Carly Ashley said that ICE agents came to the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18 with an arrest warrant. Dugan wasn’t mentioned in Ashley’s communication, which went on to say that ICE agents arrived in the morning, identified themselves to security, and went to the sixth floor where Dugan’s courtroom is located.

Ashley said that the agents were asked to wait until court proceedings were over, and that their actions were consistent with draft policies. Dugan responded to the email, however, saying “a warrant was not presented in the hallway on the 6th floor,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Instead, unnamed sources in the story said that Dugan didn’t hide a defendant, but rather took the defendant and an attorney to a side door which led to a private hallway into a public area on the sixth floor.

It was the third time since March that ICE agents arrived at the courthouse to conduct arrests. Two arrests were made in March and April, with one of the individuals arrested after appearing  in family court for a hearing on a domestic violence restraining order, which was ultimately dismissed. 

Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) said that Dugan acted in “defense of due process by preventing ICE from shamefully using her courtroom as an ad hoc holding area for deportations.” Clancy added that “we cannot have a functional legal system if people are justifiably afraid to show up for legal proceedings, especially when ICE agents have already repeatedly grabbed people off the street in retaliation for speech and free association, without even obtaining proper warrants.” 

While Clancy praised Dugan, Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) said “I have never seen a more irresponsible act by an officer of the court, let alone a judge, if true.”

Fort McCoy | Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner

The commander of Fort McCoy, a military base near Sparta, Wisconsin, has been suspended after a controversy over the base not displaying portraits of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In a statement, the U.S. Army said that Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez had been suspended as garrison commander at Fort McCoy. 

The statement said that the suspension “is not related to any misconduct,” though the base drew recent criticism for not displaying pictures of Trump and Hegseth, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of Defense posted a picture showing Trump’s portrait missing from  a leadership wall and Hegseth’s turned so only the back of the picture was visible. The post declared: “Regarding the Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy…. WE FIXED IT! Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened.”

Spokespeople from the Department of Defense and Fort McCoy’s 88th Readiness Division declined to comment, but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Ramirez has “not been relieved of command.” A subsequent statement on the U.S. Army’s website said that neither Ramirez nor anyone else on the fort’s leadership team had directed the removal of the portraits. After Ramirez was suspended, Hegseth shared a post on X mentioning the commander’s suspension. 

The Milwaukee County Courthouse. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents around the Milwaukee County Courthouse continue to spur controversy. Late last week, ICE agents arrested Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant accused of misdemeanor battery. Flores-Ruiz appeared in Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan’s court on April 18, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. 

Now, the FBI is investigating whether Dugan helped an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest after that immigrant appeared in her courtroom. Although the immigrant hasn’t been identified, Flores-Ruiz, whose immigration status is unclear, “appears to match the description,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

On April 23, Dugan declined to comment on the investigation or possible legal proceedings. ICE officials referred questions to the FBI’s Milwaukee office, which also declined to comment. The Journal Sentinel reported that an email sent by Chief Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Carly Ashley said that ICE agents came to the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18 with an arrest warrant. Dugan wasn’t mentioned in Ashley’s communication, which went on to say that ICE agents arrived in the morning, identified themselves to security, and went to the sixth floor where Dugan’s courtroom is located.

Ashley said that the agents were asked to wait until court proceedings were over, and that their actions were consistent with draft policies. Dugan responded to the email, however, saying “a warrant was not presented in the hallway on the 6th floor,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Instead, unnamed sources in the story said that Dugan didn’t hide a defendant, but rather took the defendant and an attorney to a side door which led to a private hallway into a public area on the sixth floor.

It was the third time since March that ICE agents arrived at the courthouse to conduct arrests. Two arrests were made in March and April, with one of the individuals arrested after appearing  in family court for a hearing on a domestic violence restraining order, which was ultimately dismissed. 

Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) said that Dugan acted in “defense of due process by preventing ICE from shamefully using her courtroom as an ad hoc holding area for deportations.” Clancy added that “we cannot have a functional legal system if people are justifiably afraid to show up for legal proceedings, especially when ICE agents have already repeatedly grabbed people off the street in retaliation for speech and free association, without even obtaining proper warrants.” 

While Clancy praised Dugan, Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) said “I have never seen a more irresponsible act by an officer of the court, let alone a judge, if true.”

Lincoln Hills Photo (courtesy of the Department of Corrections)

The court-issued monitor for Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake released a report Friday on conditions at the notorious juvenile facilities. It was the monitor’s 22nd visit to the prisons, and revealed both signs of improvement and lingering or worsening problems for the two facilities. The monitor noted that the populations at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake were “significantly higher” compared to the last visit in October 2024. As of April 18, there are 78 boys at Lincoln Hills, 34 youth at Mendota, six girls at Copper Lake, and four at the Grow Academy, according to weekly population reports. The total on-grounds juvenile population is currently 122, up from the 95 who were in custody in early January. 

Average staffing vacancies which typically hovered around 16%-40% were lower, and the monitor stressed the need to address youth on administrative confinement, particularly those waiting to be transferred to another facility. 

Despite the issues, the report found that the Department of Corrections (DOC) is in substantial compliance with 45 (or 90%) of the 50 provisions identified in a court-ordered consent decree that resulted from a 2017 lawsuit over conditions at the youth prison. With the new monitoring report, four more provisions of the consent decree were brought into substantial compliance.

“This report showcases the hard work and commitment of our staff at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake,” said DOC secretary Jared Hoy in a statement. “Tremendous progress has been made over the past seven plus years and we are looking forward to realizing a new model for juvenile corrections in Wisconsin.” The Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center began accepting girls for the first time, allowing the population at Copper Lake to be cut in half. Transfer times for boys were also reduced, and treatment teams have helped youth understand the root causes for anti-social behavior.

The report noted that physical improvements, such as replacing heat exchangers and deck upgrades to training facilities, were made since the last visit. Wifi strength has increased in the school and other living units, making it easier for youth to access recreation and learning programs.

Youth in confinement are provided with a special education teacher, as well as a general education teacher. New classrooms have been added to the Skills Development Programs, and teachers are attending youth growth team meetings and other activities. Some incarcerated youth did complain about teachers not being on the units most of the time, and only receiving paper packet work or chromebooks. A random viewing of video by the monitor showed teachers in the units. Youth also played kickball and were in the music lab during the monitoring visit. The facility still lacks a welding instructor, a program which youth appear to enjoy. The monitor was also concerned about vacancy rates in light of the growing population at Lincoln Hills. 

Living units were clean, and youth interacted with the monitor respectfully. Some housing units weren’t visited because the youth were rambunctious, but all units appeared clean and organized. Youth were calm and talkative with monitoring team members and one another, according to the report. Some played cards, ate lunch, made phone calls or watched television. When interviewed by the monitor, the youth were largely positive. They said they enjoyed new menu items, the music lab, but complained about food portion sizes. They also wished there were more jobs for them to do around the facility, and wanted the kickball unit to be switched to basketball. 

“Some youth stated that staff were abusive, and some youth really liked the staff and said they treated them well,” the monitor wrote. “Youth took pride in how clean their rooms and units were.” There were also complaints about restraints, including  waist belts, that have been used when they are out of their rooms. Youth felt the use of restraints was unfair, and that sometimes they weren’t told when violations were received. 

In 2022, DOC received funding to move forward with a state-run juvenile facility in Milwaukee County. Land was approved on West Clinton Avenue and the design has been  finalized and work began in the summer of 2024. The 32-bed facility is scheduled to be completed in late 2026. Another Type 1 facility is being designed in Dane County. Opening the new facilities will be a major step towards the Legislature’s goal of closing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, which have had troubled reputations for abuse and violence against youth housed there as well as staff members. 

A surveillance van or "critical response vehicle". (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin has issued a letter asking elected leaders in Milwaukee to temper the acquisition and use of surveillance technologies by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). On Thursday evening, the police department went before the Fire and Police Commission (FPC) to push for the use of facial recognition technology. This, along with the common council’s recent approval of drone usage by the MPD, has spurred the ACLU to call for a two-year pause on the adoption of new surveillance technologies, and craft frameworks to regulate the technology MPD already has “with meaningful opportunities for community input.” 

Although it acknowledges that many on the council and within MPD “care deeply about the safety and well-being of our city,” the ACLU’s letter also warns that “history has shown time and again, authoritarianism does not always arrive with flashing lights and villainous speeches — it often comes wrapped in routine procedure, paperwork, and people ‘just doing their jobs.’” 

“We are already seeing how surveillance technology is being weaponized in real time,” the ACLU continued, citing data-gathering, automatic license plate readers, artificial intelligence (AI), and other tools that are used to “target and detain individuals.” 

The MPD has long denied that it uses facial recognition technology. As part of an investigation into surveillance technologies which the department obtained ahead of the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Wisconsin Examiner reviewed “investment justification” records from the state’s Homeland Security Council which suggested that the Southeastern Threat Analysis Center — a homeland security-focused aspect of the MPD’s intel-gathering Fusion Center — utilized Clear facial recognition technology. It was described as a “mobile device” that would allow police to “conduct timely identification of individuals in the field to prevent terrorist attack.” 

By contrast, MPD PowerPoint presentations prepared for the April 17 FPC meeting openly advertise the use of facial recognition. The PowerPoint details two examples of arrests made using facial recognition software. One “case study” from March 2024 involved a fatal gun violence incident where the suspects fled. The PowerPoint said that they were later seen at a gas station, and that facial recognition software provided leads to both suspects. Noting that “facial recognition results are advisory in nature and are to be treated as investigative leads only,” the PowerPoint states that a Department of Corrections agent confirmed the software’s results, leading to arrests the next morning. 

One of the PowerPoint slides shows in-custody photographs of the arrested men above pictures of them masked in a gas station. The slides showed that the facial recognition software had a “similarity” rating of 99.7% for one man, and 98.1% for another. Both men are waiting for a trial. The other case study focused on a sexual assault incident involving a gun. Like the other example, surveillance footage of the suspect from a gas station helped lead to the arrest. MPD sent out a facial recognition request to local agencies. It was answered by the Wauwatosa Police Department, which returned two pictures of the same individual. The pictures had similarity ratings of 99.1% and 98.9% respectively. The arrested man was sentenced to 20 years in prison. 

The PowerPoint presentation lists 14 cases from the North and South Sides of Milwaukee. It states that MPD “would be diligent in balancing the need for effective, accurate investigations and the need to respect the privacy of others,” and that facial recognition does not establish probable cause to arrest someone or obtain a warrant. “It may generate investigative leads through a combination of automated biometric comparisons and human analysis,” the PowerPoint states. “Corroborating information must be developed through additional investigation.” 

A PowerPoint presentation detailing the Milwaukee PD’s plans for facial recognition software.

MPD has reviewed procedures for the technology’s use nationwide, and stated that “oversight of the system will consist of an audit report showing information requested, accessed, searched, or disseminated.” All requests for facial recognition must be approved by a supervisor, and the department will keep a log of each search and the type of crime involved. Biometrica is the chosen facial recognition vendor. The PowerPoint states that the company has worked with the NAACP and the ACLU to provide anti-bias training for users of the software. 

The reassurances, however, do little to quell the concerns of privacy advocates. In their letter to the MPD and common council, the ACLU of Wisconsin highlighted ongoing immigrant roundups by  the Trump administration, and the deportation of Milwaukee residents to a notorious maximum security terrorism prison in El Salvador. “It is being used to monitor and prosecute political protesters, people seeking reproductive health care, LGBTQ+ individuals, and doctors trying to provide care,” the letter states. “These are not projections — these are present-day realities carried out by bad actors within the federal government and local jurisdictions.” 

The ACLU letter warns, “while we trust that our local leaders and police officers have good intentions, history reminds us how quickly larger systems can override those intentions.” 

In recent years MPD has expanded its network of surveillance cameras and other activities such as its phone surveillance operations remain shrouded in secrecy. MPD has also built up its social media surveillance footprint using AI-powered software, after downplaying the very existence of those activities in years past. 

“Data collected in Milwaukee does not stay in Milwaukee,” the ACLU states. “Once it enters a federal pipeline, it can be accessed, shared, and used in ways we cannot predict — or stop. That’s why now, more than ever, we must choose restraint. The rule of law at the federal level is unraveling before our eyes.”

The same set of concerns came up during a March 20 FPC meeting, where commissioners discussed the MPD’s use of drones and facial recognition technology. Police officials claimed that complaints about law enforcement using drones lagged behind the rate of agencies acquiring the technology, suggesting that the public approves. Police officials said that MPD’s “Airborne Assessment Team,” which is attached to the department’s Specialized Patrol Division, would help increase situational awareness, de-escalate dangerous situations, aid search-and-rescue, help manage major events and offer unique opportunities to “positively engage” with the community. In protest situations, drones would allow MPD to monitor an area while not physically placing officers nearby, whose presence could trigger an escalation among the protest crowd. 

MPD said that its drones do not have facial recognition capabilities. Still, the growth of MPD’s surveillance powers have worried some community members. Commissioner Bree Spencer said during the meeting that it would be nice for a community-based tech advisory board to be established to help review MPD’s surveillance requests. Spencer said that nationwide and historically, it’s not unheard-of for law enforcement surveillance programs to get out of hand. 

“I get it for water rescue, I’m very worried about things like protests,” said Spencer. “I think for very good reason. Our federal government is doing some very funky things right now with protesters. So I get what you’re saying, and I see in the SOP that you’re like, ‘We’re not going to do that.’ I don’t know if that’s sufficient in terms of a protection, particularly for people who are skeptical about the use of these technologies.”

Police officials said that drones are a crowd management tool, and that during the Republican National Convention (RNC) they helped monitor protest movements to ensure opposing groups didn’t come into contact with one another. Spencer reiterated, “I think I just worry about the cost to individual civil rights and, like, how that’s going to just keep growing in our society…I wish the public had more input into whether or not the use of this type of technology is happening here. Talking to the community is not the same as letting them have a decision about whether or not they want drones in their city being run by police.” 

MPD spokespeople said the department based its drone usage procedures on best practice guidance from the ACLU, and that the department is “very late” to the drone game. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, for example, officially announced its drone program in 2021. 

Ahead of the DNC nearly five years ago, the MPD acquired large white vans called “critical response vehicles”, which are also attached to the Specialized Patrol Division and came equipped with their own tethered aerial drones. Wisconsin Examiner found that the sheriff’s drones were used to monitor police accountability protests, with the number of flights dropping significantly once the protests subsided. 

In its letter Thursday, the ACLU stressed that police abuse of surveillance “is not ancient history” but rather “it’s living memory for many in our city.” Some may remember the reign of police chief Harold Breier, who surveilled civil rights activists, LGBTQ+ communities, and Black Milwaukeeans. “And those who carried out that surveillance often believed they were ‘just doing their jobs.’” The ACLU’s letter questions what a personality like Chief Breier would do with today’s surveillance powers. 

“We’re not calling for a ban,” the letter states. Instead, the ACLU calls for a  two-year pause on acquiring new surveillance technologies, especially facial recognition technology, “while we assess the potential risks.” In the meantime, the letter urges city leaders to “pass a framework for regulating existing surveillance technology, such as adopting a Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) Ordinance to bring accountability to these decisions before it’s too late.”

Voces de la Frontera gather alongside allies in Milwaukee for a protest on May Day, 2021. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “operating outside the limits of the law in and around the Milwaukee County Courthouse Complex,” while also calling on the sheriff to work with the county executive and chief judge of the First Judicial District to “ensure access to services and safeguard every individual’s constitutional right to due process.” 

During the board committee meeting Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson called the resolution, which she authored with Supervisors Caroline Gomez-Tom and Juan Miguel Martinez, both “reactive” and “proactive.” The resolution also calls for Milwaukee County residents to be educated on their rights during immigration encounters, such as distributing educational material around the courthouse complex. 

“Let me be clear,” Nicholson said, “everyone regardless of immigration status deserves due process. And that’s not a radical idea, that’s the Constitution. And yet when federal immigration enforcement takes place in our courthouse complex, it sends families into hiding, deters survivors of violence from seeking protection and discourages tenants from asserting their rights.” Nicholson said that “it erodes trust in the very systems we are responsible for upholding.”

In early April, the community learned of two ICE arrests in the county courthouse. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said in a press statement that ICE had not given prior notice of one of the arrests and that the sheriff’s office was not involved in making the arrests. Days later, the men were identified as Edwin Bustamante-Sierre, 27, and Marco Cruz-Garcia, 24. ICE said that the men had been convicted of violent crimes or were linked to gangs. Online court records show that one of the men, Cruz-Garcia, was arrested the same day he went to family court for a domestic violence-related restraining order, which was dropped that day. 

Nicholson said the arrests took place in the “public hallways of our courthouse and Safety Building.” She added, “That action didn’t just detain individuals, it delivered a message: ‘This space may not be safe for people who look a certain way, or speaks a certain language.’” 

The arrests were widely condemned by local officials and activists. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement that the courthouse “stands as a cornerstone of justice where residents come to seek information, resources and fair participation in the legal process” and that “an attack on this safe, community-serving space undermines public trust, breeds fear among citizens and staff and disrupts the due process essential to our courts.” 

Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, as well as members of the Board of Supervisors also decried the arrests. Local groups from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin to Voces de la Frontera, and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression also blasted ICE for making arrests in the courthouse.

The ACLU highlighted that ICE enforcement often causes immigrant communities to avoid contacting law enforcement, even when they are in danger of becoming crime victims. On April 10, Congresswoman Gwen Moore said in a statement that “ICE has seemingly front-run Milwaukee’s justice system, potentially denying the city justice and potential victims a remedy.” Moore added, “This Administration’s decision to remove sensitive location protections will stir even more fear in our communities, prevent victims of crime from coming forward, and disrupt houses of worship, schools, and hospitals.”

In a joint statement Nicholson, Gomez-Tom, and Miguel Martinez said that the resolution “puts us on the right side of history and the right side of humanity.” The resolution is “about helping people … protection process…[and] protecting the promise of what our Courthouse is meant to be – a place of fairness, access, and truth.” 

During public testimony on Tuesday, Sup. Willie Johnson Jr. said that he agreed that the arrests “were an erosion of trust”. Echoing Nicholson’s words Johnson said that “we are stewards of Milwaukee County government, we represent the citizens of this county and we should be respectful of the rights of people to go about their business, be where they need to be, and do what they need to do.” 

Sup. Miguel Martinez said “this is just the first step towards creating more action.” The board is expecting a report back from the sheriff and county executive regarding rules around the courthouse, he  said.

“This administration really is descending into 1939 Nazi Germany,” Miguel Martinez continued. “And I’m not saying that with hyperbole because there’s people that are getting deported and people that are citizens, and are not returning. We have people with residency getting their residency stripped away from them. And every single day, it descends into more and more madness.”

He said that it was the responsibility of board members “as local representatives of our communities, that we make sure that we fight every single day against this unlawful administration, and make sure that we let everybody know that we are here to protect them, and we won’t let our country descend into absolute tyrannical madness.”

Sup. Gomez-Tom added that it is the county government’s responsibility “to serve our community, and all inhabitants of our county.” Milwaukee County residents go to the courthouse for many different services besides the justice system, including victim services, child support or obtaining legal documents, “and everyone should have a right to do so, and to do so in peace,” said Gomez-Tom. 

Supervisors Anne O’Connor said that to her knowledge, the Trump administration is the first to pursue immigration arrests in what were once considered “safe places” such as courthouses or churches. 

At a press conference she attended in the days after the arrests, O’Connor said, ICE agents were parked illegally outside and wouldn’t identify themselves further. She described the feeling as “a cloak of anonymity” and said her constituents are concerned about vulnerable communities such as resettled Afghan-U.S. allies, Rohingya, and Congolese communities who get services from nonprofits.

Sup. Patti Logsdon abstained from voting on the resolution’s passage, saying her decision “is not a reflection of indifference or opposition to the values of justice or fairness,” but concern about the legal uncertainty surrounding the passing and implications of this resolution.” 

Logsdon asked for legal guidance as to what policies the county has in place already to guide ICE interactions, as well as the legal jeopardy elected officials who support policies that could conflict with federal immigration law may find themselves. Logsdon also questioned whether Milwaukee County could be sued for going against immigration enforcement, who would pay for it and how much it would cost “in defending and educating undocumented immigrants about their rights.”

Several members of the public also attended the board meeting, expressing support for the resolution, concern for immigrant communities and opposition to  Trump administration immigration policies.

Gomez-Tom noted that she is the daughter of Mexican immigrants.  “I know what that chilling effect looks like when someone in your family is at risk…maybe isn’t even at risk, but is scared that they could be at risk of being detained, of being questioned,” she said. “What happens is people get paralyzed.”