The recent arrest of a suspected Venezuelan gang member in Wisconsin may give former President Donald Trump, who has long stoked fears of migrant crime, fodder at his upcoming rally in the state on Saturday.
Trump, the GOP presidential nominee in November’s election, is set to hold a rally Saturday afternoon in Mosinee, Wisconsin, which is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive northeast of Prairie du Chien where Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday, following allegations of physical and sexual violence.
The Prairie du Chien Police Department wrote in a Facebook post on Friday that Zarate had allegedly been “physically and sexually violent” toward a woman in an altercation that also left a girl injured. Zarate was arrested and taken to the Crawford County Jail. ICE was notified and placed a detainer on Zarate.
Zarate is suspected of being affiliated with the transnational gang, Tren de Aragua, who are known for criminal activities including murder, kidnapping, extortion, as well as drug, weapons, and human trafficking.
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He was booked into jail for domestic disorderly conduct, two counts of domestic battery, strangulation/suffocation, physical abuse to a child, disorderly conduct and two counts of second-degree sexual assault. Zarate also had warrants through Dane County, Wisconsin, for strangulation/suffocation, false imprisonment, battery and disorderly conduct.
Trump—who has amplified anti-migrant rhetoric since his first run for president during the 2016 election cycle when he called Mexican migrants “rapists” who are bringing in drugs and crime—may use Zarate’s arrest to back up his continued claims that migrants are dangerous criminals that the U.S. needs to keep out as his campaign has done before.
Meanwhile, the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, said in a May 2024 article: “Numerous studies show that immigration is not linked to higher levels of crime, but rather the opposite…When looking specifically at the relationship between undocumented immigrants and crime, researchers come to similar conclusions.”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment on Saturday afternoon.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower on September 6 in New York City. The recent arrest of a suspected Venezuelan gang member in Wisconsin may give Trump, who has… Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower on September 6 in New York City. The recent arrest of a suspected Venezuelan gang member in Wisconsin may give Trump, who has long stoked fears of migrant crime, fodder at his upcoming rally in Mosinee on Saturday.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
On July 24—three days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the Democratic presidential nominee—Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez blamed Harris for the massive influx of illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border seen in recent years.
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“Border Czar Harris owns the bloodbath at the southern border, including the rape, murder, and brutal assault of women like Rachel Morin and Laken Riley. Try as they might, Kamala and her allies can’t change reality: she is responsible for the flood of migrant crime and deadly fentanyl into our country, and Americans will hold her accountable when they vote for President Trump in November,” Alvarez said in a statement.
Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed in Athens, Georgia, while on a run last February. The suspect in her murder, José Antonio Ibarra, is a Venezuelan illegal immigrant. Meanwhile, Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five from Maryland, was allegedly raped and murdered by 23-year-old undocumented migrant Victor Martinez Hernandez while out for a run in August of 2023.
In 2021, Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration’s diplomacy with Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras—to address the “root causes” of migration. However, she never was in charge of border security. While illegal immigration has gone up significantly under Biden, it also increased in Trump’s last months in office after hitting a low from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manuel Franco claims his $768 million Powerball jackpot
Manuel Franco, 24, of West Allis was revealed Tuesday as the winner of the $768.4 million Powerball jackpot.
Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at May 23, 2025, results for each game:
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Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 23 drawing
07-18-40-55-68, Mega Ball: 18
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 23 drawing
Midday: 9-1-3
Evening: 1-0-7
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
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Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 23 drawing
Midday: 2-8-2-0
Evening: 2-1-5-4
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from May 23 drawing
Midday: 01-02-06-07-09-11-13-14-16-20-22
Evening: 02-04-05-09-10-11-13-14-18-19-21
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Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from May 23 drawing
02-05-10-25-30
Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from May 23 drawing
06-09-11-26-35-39, Doubler: N
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.
Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?
No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.
When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?
Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **
WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Wisconsin’s largest utility received approval from state regulators Thursday to add almost $1.5 billion of new gas-fired generation to supply new data center demand as it shutters existing coal plants.
The three-member Public Service Commission, all appointees of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, voted unanimously to conditionally approve the projects proposed by Milwaukee-based We Energies over opposition from consumer advocates and environmental groups who argued that the utility was overlooking cheaper, cleaner options.
The issue before the PSC highlights a tension across the country. States have established emissions reductions goals, yet face political pressure to attract economic investment, specifically “hyperscaler” data centers like the ones proposed along Wisconsin’s Interstate 94 corridor.
Such is the case in Wisconsin, where Evers during his first term laid out a goal of achieving 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. But the governor sees data centers — and especially a $3.3 billion Microsoft data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, outside Milwaukee — as a huge economic win for the state.
The Wisconsin Badgers fell just short in their pursuit of 2026 three-star defensive tackle King Liggins, who had been a priority target for nearly a year.
Liggins committed to a rival school on Wednesday, staying home to play for the Illinois Fighting Illini, while the Badgers came second in the recruitment.
The Badgers had been in need of a defensive tackle in their 2026 class, which the 6’4, 285-pound lineman would’ve been able to fill. They currently have seven commits in their recruiting class, with three-star defensive end Carmelow Reed being the lone defensive lineman thus far.
Wisconsin still has a few official visits scheduled for the rest of next month at the position, including three-stars Jermaine Polk, Arthur Scott, and Djidjou Bah.
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Liggins became Illinois’s 16th commitment in the 2026 cycle, and the Fighting Illini now have the eighth-best class in the country, according to 247Sports.
The Badgers are just a week out from the start of their first major official visit wave. Next weekend will be crucial in bolstering their 2026 class, which has some good pieces already and needs to start filling out now.