MADISON, Wis. — Yesterday, Tim Michels released an ad filled with false claims about Gov. Evers’ response to unrest in Kenosha in 2020. Michels continues to resort to spreading disinformation in an effort to scare voters and divide our state.
Fact Check: Michels’ ad repeats false claims about Gov. Evers’ response to Kenosha, including that he did not send help “for days.”
Gov. Evers took immediate action to deploy law enforcement and the Wisconsin National Guard and fulfilled every local request to support Kenosha during the unrest.
- These claims have already been called “false” by Politifact, which wrote, “no, Wisconsin Gov. Evers did not wait to send help to Kenosha during unrest.”
- Gov. Evers mobilized law enforcement the very first night of the Kenosha unrest, and activated Wisconsin’s National Guard within 7 hours of receiving a request from local law enforcement.
- He then doubled the National Guard’s presence twice in three days. By Friday, August 28th, there were at least 1,500 National Guard troops under the command of Adjutant General Paul E. Knapp in Kenosha.
- In fact, local officials praised Gov. Evers’ response to the riots. Republican Kenosha Sheriff David Beth, a vocal Trump supporter, praised the state’s response as “fantastic,” “outstanding,” and “incredible.” Beth also argued it was “misinformation” that the state wasn’t helping with the response.
- Similarly, Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian said everyone, including the state, responded well and that the National Guard could not have come quicker.
- Gov. Evers directed millions to Kenosha businesses in the aftermath of the destruction, with each business eligible for $50,000 in recovery funds.
Gov. Evers has always prioritized public safety and made clear that he does not believe violence is ever the answer.
- Gov. Evers made clear at the time that violence and destruction would not be tolerated and did not amount to peaceful protest. From the start of the protests, Gov. Evers condemned the burning and looting of buildings in Kenosha.
- During the protests, Gov, Evers requested that those who are choosing to protest, do so peacefully and safely.
Gov. Evers has been doing the right thing to invest in public safety and support our law enforcement, despite Republican attempts to block his efforts and peddle radical gun agendas that endanger our communities and Wisconsin police.
- Gov. Evers increased pay for state troopers by nearly 10%, invested over $100 million towards law enforcement and public safety, and directed funding to every local and tribal law enforcement agency in the state regardless of population served.
- By contrast, Michels opposes common sense gun safety measures like red flag laws that allow law enforcement to seize guns from individuals who a judge has determined might be dangerous.
- Michels’ running mate Roger Roth has been one of the principal advocates for Wisconsin’s permissive concealed carry program.
- Roth voted for legislation that allowed concealed carry holders to bring loaded guns on school grounds. Gov. Evers vetoed this legislation.
- A recent report by the Center For American Progress wrote that Wisconsin’s concealed carry program had “lethal effects on law enforcement, as gun related homicides and aggravated assaults of police officers rose after the implementation of the law.”
- Following the passage of Wisconsin’s concealed carry law in 2011, the number of gun-related assaults against police officers rose by 63 percent from 2012-2019.
- Roth has voted for cuts to shared revenue, including $14 million in shared revenue for Milwaukee County in 2019 which was restored by Gov. Evers’ veto. The cuts would have forced Milwaukee leaders to cut funding for the sheriff’s office and public safety.
- Michels recently told supporters Roth would be his right hand man in policymaking as governors. Michels said of Roth, “He was president of the State Senate. He knows all the tricks that they do in the Capitol building […] He’s gonna tell us how to do it.”
- Milwaukee leaders have long decried cuts to shared revenue for negatively impacting the city’s ability to fund the police force.
- Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called the Wisconsin state legislature “the most effective de-funder of police in the City of Milwaukee,” citing cuts to shared revenue to the city.
- Mayor Cavalier Johnson recently announced his 2023 proposed city budget reluctantly included a 1% reduction in sworn police officers. Johnson said the cuts “that I do not want to make” were due to a “broken shared revenue program.” Johnson added “now we’re in a position where after all these years of trying to hold the police department and fire department harmless, we don’t really have any other places to cut.”
- Gov. Evers has recently proposed $105 million in his next executive budget to support public safety across Wisconsin, including an 8% increase in shared revenue, $10 million for public safety costs, and $3.5 million for state patrol officer’s overtime.
