Saturday, June 22, 2024
'My Son Was Shot 3 Times,' Man Says After Milwaukee Carjacking, Police Shooting
The driver's father laughs when asked about his son. Outrageous.
Rev. Al Sharpton, local religious leaders to rally against white Christian nationalism ahead of RNC
Quinn Clark
Longtime civil rights activists and faith leaders are coming together to speak out against white Christian nationalism one day before the Republican National Convention.
The "We All Belong" campaign, which was launched last year by multi-faith organization MICAH, will hold a "Rally for Democracy" on July 14 from 2 to 6 p.m. at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts.
Organizers said the event will reject white Christian nationalism and promote democracy and what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called a "Beloved Community" that has compassion for and welcomes all
The rally's speakers include both nationally and locally renowned civil rights activists, including Rev. Al Sharpton and Milwaukee's own Rev. Greg Lewis and Rev. Joseph Ellwanger.
"We're here to say Milwaukee is standing for a campaign and a way of being as Americans where we all belong, barring none, and building that 'Beloved Community,'" said Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition president Janan Najeeb, also a featured speaker.
Ellwanger, a longtime civil rights leader and member of MICAH, grew up in segregated Selma, Ala., witnessing the injustices of the Jim Crow South. He served as one the few white pastors of an African American congregation in Birmingham in 1958.
Ellwanger said white Christian nationalism's ideology, which excludes people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, is almost reinstating Jim Crow's policies, which is "neither Christian, nor is it patriotic."
"Legal Jim Crow died a slow, difficult death only after Martin Luther King and some Christian leadership put their lives on the line and said, 'Enough is enough,'" said Ellwanger. "And we still have the results."
Ellwanger said both the We All Belong campaign and the campaign's event planned for July 14 are nonpartisan.
"We're not for Democrats, and con or against Republicans," Ellwanger said. "We're against white, Christian nationalism, wherever it is. Unfortunately, it is in every sector of society."
Tickets for the "Rally for Democracy" are available for $5 on MICAHmke.org. A livestream of the event will also be available.
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.
Friday, June 21, 2024
Pants on Fire: At Racine rally, Trump repeats false claim he ‘saved’ Kenosha in 2020 and Evers didn’t act
Hope Karnopp
In the middle of talking about crime and immigration in his June 18, 2024, rally in Racine, Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump turned his attention to Kenosha.
Kenosha — about 11 miles south of where Trump held his rally — was rocked by civil unrest in 2020 after a police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times. The officer was not criminally charged.
While there was looting, firebombing and violence during some nights of the protests, others were peaceful.
“I saved Kenosha, do you know that?” Trump told the crowd. “I saved it. Kenosha was about ready to go down the tubes.”
“The governor wouldn’t move, he just wouldn’t move, and I moved,” he said. “You know, I’m not supposed to, it’s supposed to be the governor is supposed to do it. The mayor and the governor.”
Trump has made similar claims before: that Kenosha would have been destroyed without him, and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was too late to send help. In 2020, PolitiFact Wisconsin rated those claims “Pants on Fire.”
No other changes happened that would have improved the situation in Kenosha.
Trump alone is responsible for activating the National Guard.
In our 2020 fact check, we found each to be wrong. Let’s go through those again.
Protests occurred in a limited area compared to entire city
There’s a big difference between protests damaging a limited area and destroying or altering a large portion of a city of 100,000 people, we noted in that fact check.
The protests, even at the peak of the unrest Aug. 25, 2020, were largely concentrated in the one-acre Civic Park and a nearby area a few blocks wide, though people spilled into nearby neighborhoods after the largest groups were dispersed.
That drastically exaggerates the scope of the situation in Kenosha, a city of 28.4 square miles, even at its worst. That goes against Trump’s new statement of the city being “about ready to go down the tubes.”
Other factors beside National Guard presence reduced violence, including calls for peace
In 2020, Trump’s attempt to claim credit assumed the National Guard presence was the only factor in the lack of violence after Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people and killed two.
Rittenhouse was later found not guilty on five counts, including intentional, reckless and attempted homicide.
There were other reasons why violence slowed down after that, including a change in who was in the crowd.
A group described by Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth as "a militia" and "vigilante group" had been patrolling the streets of Kenosha and even standing watch on roofs with long guns the first couple nights after the Blake shooting.
In the hours before the shootings, the "Kenosha Guard" issued a call on Facebook for "patriots willing to take up arms and defend out (sic) City tonight from the evil thugs." That page was removed by Facebook after the Rittenhouse shooting.
And people wearing military gear and openly carrying weapons decreased drastically after the night of chaos that included the shooting, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters who were on the ground in Kenosha.
Still, citizens with handguns were observed as late as the weekend.
During the height of the protests, the vigilante groups and Black Lives Matter protesters were regularly clashing with each other, by hurling insults or worse.
Removing half of that equation — for whatever reason that occurred — changed the situation dramatically.
In addition to a drop in armed people, there were also calls for peace, including from Blake’s family, at marches and rallies, and — to varying degrees — from Evers and local officials.
Evers also declared a state of emergency, and local officials took steps to better control the area, such as closing off freeway access. That was in addition to increasing the number of troops, which also happened.
Trump did not send the National Guard, state efforts began before Trump talked to Wisconsin officials
That brings us to the final part of the claim, and something Trump noted again at his rally in Racine: that he was responsible for sending in the National Guard, and Evers didn’t act.
The White House described itself as authorizing 2,000 National Guard troops to go to Kenosha. But Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, who commanded the Wisconsin National Guard at the time, said that’s not really how that system operates.
He described it this way when asked what role the White House played in the Kenosha response.
"What I want to re-emphasize is the process is actually a governor-to-governor compact," Knapp said.
"Through the (Emergency Management Assistance Compact) process we had already started talking to other states (when the White House got involved), it’s one of the things we do right away during something like this."
Each state has its own National Guard — as provided for in the Constitution — and the guard has a role at both the state and federal level, according to its website.
Governors can call the National Guard into action during local or statewide emergencies. On Aug. 24, 2020, Evers activated the Guard, less than 24 hours after Blake was shot. The Trump administration talked to Evers on Aug. 25, 2020.
The president can also activate the guard for federal missions. Examples of federal missions given on the website included deployments to Kosovo or the anti-terrorism efforts in the Middle East.
After the Rittenhouse shooting, Evers increased National Guard troop numbers from 250 to 500. Evers also accepted federal troops from the Trump administration, after initially turning down federal help. We noted that in a related fact-check in 2021.
Evers’ administration said the White House was offering help from the Department of Homeland Security, not the National Guard. Evers had declined because more Guard members had already been sent.
Our ruling
At a rally in Racine, Trump made similar claims to ones he said almost four years ago: that he “saved Kenosha” and the “governor wouldn’t move” on sending the National Guard.
Other factors besides the National Guard’s presence calmed the situation in Kenosha, including calls for peace and a reduction in the number of armed people.
Trump also said Kenosha was “about ready go down the tubes,” though protests were largely contained to one acre of the larger city — exaggerating the scope of the situation.
Finally, Trump was not responsible for sending in the National Guard. State-level efforts began before his administration got involved. His administration did send in federal troops, but Evers had activated the National Guard before that.
Based on those findings in our previous fact checks, we again rate Trump’s claims Pants on Fire.
Sources
WisEye, Campaign 2024: Trump for President Rally in Racine, June 18, 2024.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A Black man shot in the back, a viral video and civil unrest: Kenosha and the rest of the country are on edge after latest police shooting, Jan. 5, 2021.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Prosecutor: No charges against Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey in Jacob Blake shooting, Jan. 5, 2021.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kenosha update recap: Coverage from Aug. 26, Aug. 29, 2020.
PolitiFact Wisconsin, No, Trump doesn't deserve credit for Kenosha de-escalation, Sept.1, 2020.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, White House says Gov. Tony Evers turned down federal help to quell Kenosha disturbances, Aug. 26, 2024.
PolitiFact Wisconsin, No, Wis. Gov. Evers did not wait to send help to Kenosha during unrest, Sept. 15, 2021.
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
'I love Milwaukee': Takeaways from Donald Trump's Wisconsin campaign rally
Molly BeckRachel HaleHope Karnopp
That's how Donald Trump began a nearly 90-minute long speech in Racine just as news outlets reported the former president had planned to stay in Chicago during the Republican National Convention instead of the Wisconsin host city and a week after Trump stunned the Milwaukee community by calling the state's largest city "horrible" in comments made to U.S. House Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The rally began just as ABC7 Chicago and the New York Times reported Trump had initially planned to stay in Chicago during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump will be formally declared the GOP presidential nominee.
A spokeswoman for Trump denied the reports but a police source told the Journal Sentinel law enforcement had been notified of daily trips planned by Trump from Chicago to Milwaukee during the convention, July 15-18.
“These lying people that say, 'Oh he doesn't like Milwaukee.' I love Milwaukee. I said you got to fix the crime, we all know that, you got to make sure the election is honest, but I'm the one that picked Milwaukee," Trump told the crowd
Rallygoers unfazed by Milwaukee 'horrible city' comment
Trump's rally in southeastern Wisconsin also comes less than a week after he called Milwaukee, a "horrible city," weeks before Milwaukee is set to host the Republican National Convention in July. That prompted backlash from state Democrats and Biden on social media. Racine is about 30 miles south of Milwaukee.
Republican members of Wisconsin's congressional delegations offered different accounts of what Trump was referring to, such as crime or elections. Trump has previously made false claims about illegal votes in Milwaukee, though late returns for Biden in 2020 were because of how the city processes its absentee ballots.
Those at the rally said the media had taken what Trump said out of context but mostly agreed that Trump was talking about crime, which they also saw as a problem in Milwaukee.
"It's the violence, and that's what he was referring to. Milwaukee is a beautiful city, if you go to the right place," said Kim Toutant from Racine, who was attending her first rally. "Every day, children are being shot in their own homes, sitting on their couch."
Buck Steiniger, who is from the Wausau area, thought people in northern Wisconsin weren't very concerned about crime in Milwaukee. "The people up there are like, 'Whatever happens down there, we're safe up here,'" he said.
Fellow rallygoer John Lazariciu said it was a case of the media trying to smear Trump, and said they don’t give the same attention to statements Biden makes.
“He mumbles gibberish on the world stage and the media, they cover for him,” Lazariciu said. “All the headlines on Trump from liberal media, it's easy for me to look past it, seeing how they've treated him for nine years now.”
Michael Boese of Edgerton said “It’s clear as day” Trump was referring to crime.
“He was saying how bad the crime isn't in Milwaukee, it's horrible. Everyone knows it,” Boese said. “I like Milwaukee. I’m a Brewers fan, I go to the State Fair, but the crime is getting bad.”
Milwaukee had double-digit percentage drops in homicides (20%), car theft (23%) and property crime (13%) from 2022 to 2023, though those crimes were up compared to 2019.
Trump claims Biden immigration order is a plan to create new voters for Democrats
Thousands of immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens but are in the country illegally would be protected from deportation and be allowed to work while they seek permanent legal status under a new government program announced by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
Trump characterized the plan as a Democratic project to allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants to vote.
Biden plans to allow undocumented spouses and their children to apply for permanent resident status without leaving the country if they meet certain criteria.
To be eligible, immigrants must have resided in the United States for 10 years or more as of June 17, 2024, and be legally married to a U.S. citizen by that date. They cannot have been paroled and cannot pose a threat to public safety and national security. On average, those who are eligible for the program have resided in the United States for 23 years, officials said.
Under current law, many migrants seeking legal status must first depart the United States and wait to be processed abroad, which can take years. The new rule will allow them to stay in the United States and work for up to three years while they seek permanent legal status.
Nothing in the order allows them to vote unless they become citizens.
In Racine, Trump characterized the plan as "a direct attack on American democracy, and yet another example is how Biden and his communists are demolishing our constitutional system and replacing it with a corrupt and fascist regime."
Trump said the plan "will be ripped up and thrown out on the very first day that we're back in office."
"You know what they're trying to do? They're trying to sign these people up and register (to vote)," Trump said without evidence. "They're not citizens. They're not allowed to do it. It's illegal as hell."
Trump again falsely claims he 'did much better' in 2020 in Wisconsin than in 2016
During his speech, Trump repeated a familiar false claim that he performed better in Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential election, compared to the 2016 election.
PolitiFact Wisconsin checked this claim in April, ahead of Trump's first rally in Green Bay. In 2020, Biden took 1,630,866 votes compared to Trump’s 1,610,184 in the state, so Trump lost by 20,682 votes.
Trump did win the state in 2016, taking more than 22,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton. He netted 1,405,284 votes in Wisconsin in 2016.
While Trump picked up more raw votes in 2020, his performance was not better because he lost by about 20,000 votes.
Eric Hovde appears on stage with Trump
Trump-backed U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde appeared with Trump on stage as he challenges Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin, praising Trump’s immigration policies and criticizing rising prices under Biden.
“They’re crushing the working class,” Hovde said. “And how about the border? President Trump showed you the numbers … he had the border completely under control.”
Trump during his speech said Hovde was from the Racine area, but Hovde is a businessman from Madison, not southeast Wisconsin. Trump announced his endorsement of Hovde in April during his first Wisconsin visit of the campaign, in Green Bay.
Biden allies blast Trump over Foxconn handling
Ahead of Trump’s rally, allies of Biden held a press conference in Racine to blast Trump over his handling of an unsuccessful economic development project from Taiwanese-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn.
Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and legislative Republicans in 2017 signed into law billions in taxpayer-funded incentives for Foxconn to build an LCD panel factory in Racine County with the promise of 13,000 jobs.
Trump held events at the White House to help move the project along and declared it would be the “eighth wonder of the world” during its groundbreaking in 2018. The project has not materialized. On Tuesday, Trump did not mention the massive project that was set to take place in the same county his rally was held.
“Trump's policies did not bring the promised jobs to Wisconsin. In fact, we lost jobs. A second term could be even more disastrous,” Democratic state Rep. Greta Neubauer of Racine said at the news conference at the local Democratic Party headquarters.
Rallygoer Gina Kocjas of Caledonia said she blames the fallout of Foxconn on Walker and the state Legislature.
“I don't blame Trump for that,” said Kocjas, who lives in Racine County.
She said Trump’s base in Racine won’t budge because of Foxxconn — or his convictions in the New York hush money case.
“He has his base and he's getting more and more of a base. These convictions and all that don’t matter," Kocjas said.
Vivek Ramaswamy compares Trump's criminal charges to hurdles faced by the founding fathers
Former Republican presidential candidate and longshot Trump running mate contender Vivek Ramaswamy sought to compare Trump to the first president of the United States as a prelude to Trump's speech in Racine.
In his remarks to the rally crowd, Ramaswamy compared the criminal charges Trump faces to turmoil during the country's founding.
"They made those sacrifices in 1776 and I believe today it's a 1776 moment in 2024 and Donald Trump is the George Washington of our moment. That is what I believe. That is why I'm here today," he said.
Earlier this year, influential conservatives encouraged Trump to pick Ramaswamy as his running mate but other contenders have risen in Trump's eyes in recent weeks.
Trump says he prefers Lake Michigan because of its lack of sharks
Trump spoke Tuesday along a harbor of Lake Michigan, which he described as "beautiful."
"Much better this, or sitting on the Pacific or the Atlantic, which has sharks," Trump said to laughter from the crowd. "I'll take the one without the sharks."
Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Molly Beck, Rachel Hale and Hope Karnopp can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com, rhale@gannett.com and hkarnopp@gannett.com
Note: The Journal Times also has extensive coverage of the Trump rally, with many photos. See it here: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/government-politics/trump-racine-record-immigration-economy/article_85873f08-2ced-11ef-9933-a3ae49995f99.html
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Minimal road restrictions expected for Trump's Tuesday visit, according to police
RACINE — There will be no full road closures Tuesday as former President Donald Trump visits Downtown Racine and businesses can expect to operate as usual, according to police.
Doors for the campaign event open at 11 a.m. at Festival Park, 5 Fifth St. Trump is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m., according to event organizers.
A protest also is planned to take place at Monument Square, according to Racine Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Kristi Wilcox.
Wilcox said while no streets will be fully closed, drivers should anticipate some traffic delays at intersections and parking restrictions throughout downtown.
Rotary Park Drive will be shut down between Fifth and Sixth streets, and Fifth Street from Lake Avenue to Festival Hall will be shut down, according to Wilcox
Access to the Lake Avenue ramp will be open from Lake Avenue but not from Fifth Street, Wilcox said.
Local law enforcement will be present to manage traffic flow, according to Wilcox.
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Trump |
Monday, June 17, 2024
Milwaukee a 'horrible' city? 'Trump denies comment he already acknowledged
Erik S. Hanley
In a social media post he says no, after having already acknowledged the comment in an interview with a Milwaukee broadcast journalist and with Fox News.
In a post Saturday on Truth Social, the 45th president posted: “The Democrats are making up stories that I said Milwaukee is a ‘horrible city.’ This is false, a complete lie.”
But that came after an interview with Fox 6 in Milwaukee in which Trump didn't deny the remark and said he was commenting on crime and elections in Milwaukee. He made similar comments to Fox News.
The "horrible city" quote, first reported Thursday by Punchbowl News, was made before House Republicans in a morning meeting on Capitol Hill while discussing strategies for his campaign.
Republican congressmen in the room confirmed the comment to the Journal Sentinel with different takes on what Trump was talking about, but Trump in his social media post blamed Democrats, none of whom were in the room
“I picked Milwaukee, I know it well,” Trump said in his post. “It should therefore lead to my winning Wisconsin. But the Dems come out with this fake story, just like all of the others. It never ends. Don’t be duped. Who would say such a thing with that important State in the balance? Vote for Trump, Wisconsin, I will not let you down!!!”
Trump also referenced other news stories in his Truth post such as the Hunter Biden laptop case and alleged Russian collusion, calling both also lies and “disinformation.”
The Democrats are making up stories that I said Milwaukee is a “horrible city.” This is false, a complete lie, just like the Laptop from Hell was a lie, Russia, Russia, Russia, was a lie, and so much more. It’s called Disinformation, and that’s all they know how to do. I picked Milwaukee, I know it well. It should therefore lead to my winning Wisconsin. But the Dems come out with this fake story, just like all of the others. It never ends. Don’t be duped. Who would say such a thing with that important State in the balance? Vote for Trump, Wisconsin, I will not let you down!!!
The "horrible" comment spurred quick reaction from Democrats and others with close ties to Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson responded to the report: “Well, if Donald Trump wants to talk about things that he thinks are horrible, all of us lived through his presidency, so right back at you, buddy."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made a post on X saying to "add it to the list of things Donald Trump is wrong about."
Evers also posted on X June 14 saying "Milwaukee is a terrific city. Pass it on." This prompted others to share photos of themselves in Milwaukee, or of events in the city, with the same wording.
More:Democrats launch billboards in Milwaukee after Trump says it's a 'horrible city'
More:Here's how social media is reacting to Trump's 'horrible city' comment about Milwaukee
Republicans have put out differing accounts of what happened in that meeting.
“I was in the room,” U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil of the 1st Congressional District wrote on X. “President Trump did not say this. There is no better place than Wisconsin in July.”
He later clarified that Trump was having “a broad conversation about the challenges we face as a country, in particular the challenges that we’ve seen in Milwaukee.”
Others seemingly acknowledged the comment occurred, but attempted clarification as to what exactly Trump thought was “horrible.”
An aide to U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald of the 5th Congressional District told the Journal Sentinel the comments “were about election integrity.”
In contrast, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of the 3rd Congressional District shared on X that he thinks the comment was, “specifically referring to the crime rate in Milwaukee.”
Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Racine on Tuesday, June 18, at Racine Festival Park.
Contact Erik S. Hanley aterik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page,The Redheadliner, and follow him on X@Redheadliner.