Wisconsin
Suspected Venezuelan gang member arrest may give Trump fodder in Wisconsin
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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