Criminal Justice

Ellen Ferwerda's shop in downtown Kenosha (photo courtesy of Ellen Ferwerda)

Kenosha braces for visit by Trump

BY: - September 1, 2020

Rebuffing requests by Gov. Tony Evers and Mayor John Antaramian that he stay away, President Donald Trump will be arriving in Kenosha on Tuesday. Trump is planning to meet with law enforcement and survey the damage to the downtown after a week of protests of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black Kenosha resident […]

Kenosha Protests

Kenosha officials on Trump, protests and police

BY: and - September 1, 2020

As the City of Kenosha entered the second week since a police officer shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times, officials held a press conference in which they celebrated a weekend of peace and braced for the imminent arrival of President Donald Trump. Trump is set to visit the city Tuesday despite pleas from […]

Republicans hold special session in name only

BY: - September 1, 2020

Once again on Monday, Gov. Tony Evers and legislative Democrats were confronted by the existential fact of the current state Legislature: Republican leaders can and will quash action on any issue just by not showing up. As was widely expected, both the Assembly and the Senate gaveled in the special session that Gov. Tony Evers […]

Milwaukee Bucks, led by George Hill (center) call on the Wisconsin Legislature to act on racial justice and police brutality.

If Fitzgerald and Vos won’t listen to Evers will they listen to the Bucks?

BY: - August 28, 2020

If you plan to place a bet on whether or not the Legislature will meet in a special session on Monday and take up measures tied to racial injustice and police reform — be careful how you phrase the bet. It’s not completely clear what will happen in the Legislature on Monday. On Monday Aug. […]

Participants at March on Washington

‘You just have to act’: Thousands outraged by police brutality rally at March on Washington

BY: and - August 28, 2020

WASHINGTON – On the 57th anniversary of the original March on Washington and in the throes of a pandemic, thousands of demonstrators on Friday joined Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to demand Congress act on police brutality and voter suppression. The event, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, […]

Kamala Harris -- serious look on her face

Kamala Harris on Blake shooting: “it seems the officer should be charged”

BY: - August 28, 2020

Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said she wants to see a thorough investigation into the shooting of Jacob Blake by Officer Rusten Sheskey, and “based on what I have seen, it seems the officer should be charged.” Harris, a former prosecutor and California attorney general, made sure to point out that she […]

Protesters gather in Kenosha the second night of protests on August 24th, 2020. This was before the clashes with police later that night. (Photo by Isiah Holmes)

Groups call for Kenosha chief, sheriff to lose their jobs

BY: - August 28, 2020

Jacob Blake survived being shot seven times in the back by Kenosha police, but his father says he is paralyzed from the waist down. Despite that, Blake’s father told the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday, Blake has been handcuffed to his hospital bed. Asked at a news conference in Kenosha Thursday afternoon whether that report concerned […]

James Hall, president of the Racine/Kenosha Urban League

“Property can be rebuilt, the lives cannot be rebuilt.” 

BY: - August 28, 2020

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul assembled local, state and national media in Kenosha in front of a grassy field as the sun began to descend Wednesday, conveying basic facts that the Department of Justice was able to share on its investigation into the police shooting of Jacob Blake that left the 29-year-old paralyzed. Details included […]

Vos’ task force on race joins a line of reports, studies and commissions stretching back more than 100 years

BY: - August 28, 2020

In response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington) said action wouldn’t be taken until at least after the November election.  But after Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey shot 29-year-old Jacob Blake in the back seven times, paralyzing him from the waist down according to his […]

KENOSHA, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 25: Residents confront protestors near the Kenosha County Courthouse during a third night of unrest. Rioting as well as clashes between police and protesters began Sunday night after a police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back in front of his three children. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A ‘call to arms’ that filled Kenosha with combat weapons

BY: - August 27, 2020

The man who called gunmen to gather on the streets of Kenosha Tuesday night — culminating in the deaths of two people and an injury to a third — says he did so to keep the city safe. Despite the deaths, he believes they made it safer. Kevin Mathewson is a former Kenosha alder who […]

Kenosha alleged shooter’s social media shows support for Trump, Blue Lives Matter

BY: - August 26, 2020

The social media accounts of the 17-year-old suspected of killing two protesters in Kenosha Tuesday night show support for President Donald Trump and the blue lives matter movement.  Kyle Rittenhouse, who was arrested Wednesday in Antioch, Illinois, has two public TikTok accounts and a Facebook account. The Facebook account has been deleted. The contents of […]

Milwaukee Bucks boycott playoff game to protest Blake shooting, Brewers follow suit

BY: - August 26, 2020

The Milwaukee Bucks refused to leave their locker room on Wednesday, boycotting a scheduled playoff game against the Orlando Magic to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, which is about 45 minutes from the Bucks’ home arena in Milwaukee.  Since restarting the season in July, the NBA and its players have joined calls […]