Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary for governor, a shocking outcome for a candidate who briefly suspended his floundering campaign roughly a month ago.

The post In shocking comeback, David Crowley wins Democratic primary for governor appeared first on WPR.

Wisconsin Democrats’ efforts to flip control of the state Senate runs through just a handful of districts — and the most competitive of those will be in a newly-drawn district in southwest Wisconsin.

The post 3 Democrats vie for competitive Senate seat that could determine majority appeared first on WPR.

Madison's police chief said between 30 and 40 protesters remained in the streets for hours overnight, setting fires and expanding the footprint of their nearly two-week-old protest.

The post Arrest count at Madison encampment site climbs to 22 after overnight skirmishes appeared first on WPR.

A new campaign finance report details the chaotic end to Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s campaign for governor, including the reimbursement of an ostensibly independent outside group for nearly $53,000.

The post Finance report details chaotic end to Sara Rodriguez’s campaign for governor appeared first on WPR.

With mail-in voting under scrutiny and two weeks out from Wisconsin’s midterm primary elections, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, on Friday toured Milwaukee’s elections operations center in an effort to promote voter confidence.

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Mainstream Democrats hope he can win the primary over Madison Rep. Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist. But this late in the campaign, it's a risky political bet.

The post Mainstream Democrats pin hopes on David Crowley’s reboot campaign for governor appeared first on WPR.

With her democratic socialist brand of politics, Madison Rep. Franceca Hong is defining the terms of the Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin. Mainstream Democrats are worried she would lose in November and are scrambling for an alternative.

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An immigration judge took testimony all day Wednesday in the U.S. government's prosecution of Salah Sarsour, the leader of Wisconsin's largest mosque who was detained by immigration officials in March.

The post Deportation hearing begins for Milwaukee Muslim leader Salah Sarsour appeared first on WPR.

Hours after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez's announcement Friday that she is suspending her campaign for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signaled that he's preparing to get back into the Democratic primary.

The post After Rodriguez’s departure, Crowley signals return to Wisconsin governor’s race appeared first on WPR.

After news emerged Monday that Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s campaign is short hundreds of thousands of dollars, the result of accounting errors by her now-fired campaign manager, it didn’t take long for the other Democrats in the race to pounce.

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Campaign finance reports due Wednesday will show how much candidates raised in the first half of this year, and may show signs of who is entering the final days with wind at their back.

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The Wisconsin attorney general gets to control money from multistate lawsuits, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The post Wisconsin Supreme Court sides with Josh Kaul in latest lame duck decision appeared first on WPR.

David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive who was among the first Democrats to announce he'd run to replace outgoing Gov. Tony Evers, is ending his campaign.

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Dozens of animal rights activists involved in a raid on a Dane County animal breeding facility have been charged with burglary, property damage and theft — felony charges which could lead to years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

The post Felony charges brought against 47 animal rights activists after Ridglan Farms raid appeared first on WPR.

When state Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, took part in two livestreams on Monday, it was a sign of the times. Leading Twitch and YouTube streamers have greater reach than many traditional media platforms, and appearances with these new-media influencers are an avenue to broader recognition.

The post Dem socialist Hong’s appearance on left-wing livestreams draws cash, condemnations appeared first on WPR.

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that political parties can raise and spend as much as they want on campaigns. That will change the campaign finance landscape nationwide — but a little less so in Wisconsin, where state parties have been allowed to transfer unlimited money to campaigns for years.

The post US Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance mirrors decade-old Wisconsin system appeared first on WPR.

The Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin has officially gone negative, with former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes attacking current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, and Rodriguez responding in kind.

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A sweeping bipartisan housing bill passed through Congress earlier this week, with provisions aimed at making it easier to build new houses and rezone communities.

The post Sweeping federal housing bill won’t be a magic bullet for Wisconsin affordability, experts say appeared first on WPR.

The rate at which Wisconsin distributes too much or too little food assistance is among the lowest in the nation, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The post Wisconsin’s SNAP error rates are low, according to federal review appeared first on WPR.

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The president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque has been released from immigration detention, after a federal judge’s order Thursday.

Salah Sarsour, who has been in custody in Indiana for more than two months, was released on personal recognizance because of “extraordinary circumstances,” wrote Judge James Patrick Hanlon, an appointee of President Donald Trump in the southern district of Indiana.

That includes concerns over Sarsour’s health as well as the possibility, raised by his attorneys, that he was targeted for immigration action on the basis of his pro-Palestinian advocacy.

Hanlon wrote that Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, must be returned to Wisconsin while his broader habeas petition moves through federal court and his immigration case moves through immigration court. In the habeas petition, Sarsour is alleging that his detention is unlawful.

“The Court does not decide the ultimate outcome of Mr. Sarsour’s First Amendment habeas claim or the merits of the charges of removability against him,” Hanlon wrote. “The Court only concludes, on the present record, that Mr. Sarsour has raised a ‘substantial’ First Amendment retaliation claim, which could render his detention unlawful.”

Lawyers for the government argued that, if Sarsour were to be released, it should be on cash bail and with an ankle monitor. Hanlon determined that “(s)uch conditions are not necessary here.”

“Sarsour has no history of non-compliance and is well established in the Milwaukee community,” Hanlon wrote. His “entire family lives in the United States and he has not traveled outside the United States since 1998.”

Sarsour, who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, was arrested on March 30, and held in the Clay County Jail in Indiana.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security accused Sarsour of lying on his immigration forms after he immigrated from Ramallah in Palestinian territory. In a statement, DHS called Sarsour a “terrorist” who had thrown Molotov cocktails at Israeli military members and lied about it on his green card application.

His lawyers argue that Sarsour is being targeted for protected speech, including being a leader in Palestinian activism in recent years. Sarsour’s supporters acknowledge that he was convicted on those charges as a teenager growing up in the West Bank, but argue that the details were fabricated by the Israeli government.

In his order for release, Hanlon said those long-ago charges do not justify the government’s claim that Sarsour is now a risk to American safety. The government has “known about those charges for decades yet took no action to detain” Sarsour earlier, Hanlon wrote.

“Given Mr. Sarsour’s decades of living a law-abiding life in the United States and the long passage of time between his prior convictions, the Court finds Mr. Sarsour does not present a danger should he be released,” Hanlon wrote.

In a statement, Salah’s legal team said they are “ecstatic” about the decision.

“We will continue to fight the hyperbolic and ridiculous claims against Mr. Sarsour in court,” the statement reads. “But this is a day both to celebrate a family being reunited. It is also a sober reminder that, if the government can do this to Mr. Sarsour, then no one is safe from being punished for their speech.”

Sarsour released as legal cases continue

According to Sarsour’s legal team, Sarsour was released from jail at about 2:40 p.m. local time, about seven hours after Hanlon’s order came down. He was picked up by two of his sons. In photographs shared with WPR, Salah is clad in black and noticeably thinner. His legal team previously alleged that Sarsour, who is diabetic, had lost about 30 pounds while in custody.

Samuel Cole, an immigration attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which has supported Sarsour’s case, said that the judge’s order offers recognition of their argument that Sarsour is being targeted for free speech.

“I certainly think it’s a sobering reminder to all of us that this administration does not feel bound by the Constitution, and anyone who speaks out … is in danger of having their rights taken away,” Cole said.

Hanlon will consider Sarsour’s habeas petition next. He could either issue a ruling on its own, or call for an evidentiary hearing.

Separately, Sarsour’s next hearing in his immigration case is scheduled to take place in Chicago next week. In what Cole described as a highly unusual move, the judge in that case will be Jayme Salinardi, a Kansas City-based Assistant Chief Immigration Judge.

“I’m a former immigration judge myself, and the assignment of a new case to a very senior management judge in a different court — I’ve never heard of anything like this,” said Cole.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Milwaukee Muslim leader released from immigration detention after court ruling is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.