A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says an alleged threat that Dem state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez made was found to “not be credible” and her Capitol access was inappropriately revoked.
Luke Wolff said no member of the Assembly is barred from the Capitol.
“Human Resources made the decision in error and it shouldn’t have happened,” Wolff wrote in an email. “We will discuss internal policies moving forward to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Rep. (Greta) Neubauer reported it to the Capitol Police who found it not to be credible.”
Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, told WisPolitics Wednesday that she’d been barred from the Capitol amid an investigation into an alleged threat she made about using an AR-15 against one of her colleagues. Ortiz-Velez denied the accusation and said while she’s a gun owner, she doesn’t possess such a weapon.
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Ortiz-Velez didn’t immediately return calls from WisPolitics.
In Wednesday’s interview, Ortiz-Velez said Amanda Jorgensen, the director of the Legislature’s Human Resources Office, had informed the Milwaukee lawmaker she was barred from the building. Jorgensen didn’t immediately return an email today seeking comment.
Capitol Police yesterday directed a WisPolitics request for any complaints that had been filed against Ortiz-Velez to a Department of Administration spokesperson, who didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Neubauer, D-Racine, declined comment on her colleague during a Capitol news conference yesterday other than to again say Ortiz-Velez was no longer a member of the caucus after the Milwaukee lawmaker indicated to Dem leadership that she planned to leave.
