Wisconsin

Trump in Wisconsin: Harris can’t be forgiven ‘for erasing our border’

Published

3 months ago

September 28, 2024

Trump in Wisconsin: Harris can’t be forgiven ‘for erasing our border’

Todd Richmond
| Associated Press

Prairie du Chien, Wis. – Former President Donald Trump sought again to link Vice President Kamala Harris to illegal border crossings, speaking in a western river town where he said she could never be forgiven for “erasing our border.”

A day after Harris discussed immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump spoke to a crowd in the Wisconsin town of 5,000 people just across the Mississippi River from Iowa, claiming the Democratic nominee was responsible for migrants who have come into the country illegally and have committed crimes.

“Kamala Harris can never be forgiven for her erasing our border and she must never be allowed to become president of the United States,” Trump said. “She’s letting in people who are going to walk into your house, break into your door,” he said.

Trump is hoping frustration over illegal immigration will translate to votes in Wisconsin and other crucial swing states. The Republican nominee has denounced people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border as “poisoning the blood of the country” and vowed to stage the largest deportation operation in American history if elected.

“I will liberate Wisconsin from the mass migrant invasion,” he said. “We’re going to liberate the country.”

But Trump also intensified his personal attacks against Harris, insulting her as “mentally impaired.”

“If a Republican did what she did, that Republican would be impeached and removed from office … Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way,” he said.

And he also professed not to understand what Harris meant when she said he was responsible for taking children from their parents. Under his administration, Trump separated children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in a policy that was condemned globally as inhumane and one that Trump himself ended.

On the Wisconsin rally stage with Trump were three mugshots of men in the U.S. illegally accused of a crime, including Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, a case Trump cited in his speech.

Wisconsin Republicans in recent days have held up the story of Coronel Zarate’s arrest in Prairie du Chien as more evidence that people in the country illegally are committing crimes across the United States, not just in southern border states. Prosecutors charged Coronel Zarate on Sept. 18 with sexual assault, child abuse, strangulation and domestic abuse.

Police Chief Kyle Teynor posted statements on Facebook saying that Coronel Zarate is not a U.S. citizen and that he had two fake immigration documents, including a fake Social Security card. The chief added that Coronel Zarate’s tattoos indicate he’s affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang, which started in Venezuelan prisons and is posing a growing threat in the U.S.

Speaking to the crowd Saturday, Teynor stressed to the crowd that Coronel Zarate is the only Venezuelan gang member his agency has encountered, but the violence his two alleged victims suffered at his hands earlier this month was very real.

Court records show Coronel Zarate was previously charged in Madison, the state capital, in December with strangulation, false imprisonment, battery and disorderly conduct. According to a criminal complaint in that case, Coronel Zarate was driving with a female friend in November and attacked her when she tried to get out of the car. The complaint does not say why. The woman told investigators that they were just acquaintances and Coronel Zarate was homeless.

Police in Madison said that Coronel Zarate allegedly stole a car and fled before he could be questioned. He was arrested in Minneapolis a day after the alleged attack but was released from jail there. Asked why, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Megan Larson told a reporter to file a request for Coronel Zarate’s jail records. The Associated Press filed such a request but government agencies typically take months to fulfill them.

Crawford County Sheriff Sheriff Dale McCullick also addressed the crowd, and said he was sure Trump would solve the border problem and urged people to vote for Trump.

Republicans including U.S. Sen. Derrick Van Orden, who is from Prairie du Chien, have criticized authorities in both Minneapolis and Madison for letting Coronel Zarate go, saying they essentially allowed him to attack the woman in Prairie du Chien. They have accused both jurisdictions of being sanctuaries for people in the country illegally.

Speaking Saturday, Van Orden said Trump was the only one who could restore order.

“You’re going to see the one man who has enough strength and courage of conviction to stand up to anyone up to and including being shot in the head for us,” he said.

Michelle Marie Dietrich, a public defender representing Coronel Zarate in the Prairie du Chien case, declined to comment. Charlotte Wynes, another public defender representing him in Prairie du Chien along with Dietrich, didn’t respond to a voicemail seeking comment. Michelle Brandemuehl, a public defender representing him in Madison, also didn’t respond to a voicemail message seeking comment.

Trump has repeatedly portrayed migrants as criminals and blamed Harris for failing to stem an unprecedented surge in illegal immigration, though border crossings have fallen since President Joe Biden instituted an executive order limiting asylum claims. Democrats, in turn, have blamed Trump for persuading allies in Congress to kill bipartisan legislation that would have funded more border agents and given the Homeland Security secretary authority to prohibit entry for most people over a daily limit.

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Wisconsin

Preview: Wisconsin Closes Nonconference Schedule Hosting Detroit Mercy

Published

47 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Preview: Wisconsin Closes Nonconference Schedule Hosting Detroit Mercy

Detroit Mercy (5-8, 1-2 Horizon League) vs. Wisconsin (9-3, 0-2 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Sunday, December 22, 1 p.m.

Arena – Kohl Center (16,838)

Watch – Big Ten Network (Jeff Levering and Brian Butch)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Charlie Wills), Sirius 119 or 195, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 3-0 (Wisconsin leads 3-0 in Madison)

Last Meeting – Wisconsin won, 68-42, on December 6, 2003, in Madison

Follow Online: The Badgers’ Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -29.5

Projected Starting Five (Wisconsin)

Player to Watch: After averaging 2.4 points per game last season, Winter has improved to 10.6 ppg this year after scoring a career-high 20 vs. Butler. He leads UW in rebounds (5.6), offensive rebounds (23) and field goal percentage (.598).

Projected Starting Five (Detroit Mercy)

Player to watch: Leading the Titans with 16 points in Wednesday’s loss at Northern Kentucky, Lovejoy has been in double figures in nine of UDM’s 13 games. He leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals (1.9).

Series Notes

Wisconsin’s average margin of victory in its three prior meetings with UDM is 18.3 points.

The last time Wisconsin and Detroit Mercy met was Dec. 6, 2003, when UW claimed a 68-42 win. Devin Harris and Freddie Owens led the Badgers with 13 points, with Harris adding nine assists.

Wisconsin is 72-4 all-time against teams in the Horizon League. Under head coach Greg Gard, the Badgers hold a 9-0 all-time mark vs. Horizon teams.

The Titans are 30-123 all-time against the Big Ten Conference – 12-81 on the road – and have dropped 18 in a row against the league. The last win was at Michigan State, 68-65, on Dec. 13, 1997.

Wisconsin Notes

Wisconsin is 79-23 (.775) in regular season, non-conference games under Gard.

Wisconsin is 9-1 in non-conference play this season and has the chance to post double-digit out of conference wins for the first time since going 11-2 in 2016-17. The Badgers have tallied four non-conference wins over Power 5 teams, their most since 2018-19.

Wisconsin ranks 11th in the nation with an adjusted offensive efficiency of 120.1 per KenPom – through games played Dec. 18. This year’s adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 120.1 ranks as the school’s third-highest mark since KenPom began tracking in 1999.

UW is averaging 15.2 assists per game, its most since 1993-94, while turning the ball over 9.6 times per game. UW has never had a season in which it has averaged 15+ assists per game while remaining below 10 turnovers per contest.

Wisconsin leads the NCAA in free throw percentage, 84.8% FT (234-for-276) at the line. UW has nearly made more FTs (234) than its foes have attempted (237) this season.

Detroit Mercy Notes

With 11 new players on the 15-man roster, the Titans returned just 14.2 percent of their scoring, 12.9 percent of their rebounding, and 18.0 percent of their minutes played from last season.

The Titans snapped a 22-game road slide with a win at Ball State on November 20.

UDM posted four wins in November, the most in the month since going 4-3 at the start of the 2017-18 season

Detroit Mercy has owned the glass this year, outrebounding its opponents in nine of its 13 games. The Titans are 52nd in the country with 13.2 offensive boards and 74th in DI with a +5.4 rebounding average.

UDM has a 173-107 margin on second-chance points on the season.

Prediction

Calling out a play that involves Crowl getting an early shot attempt in the low post is nothing new for Gard. Off the top of his head, he estimates that getting the ball to Crowl in the low post within Wisconsin’s first three offensive possessions happens 90 percent of the time.

But after being publicly called out by his coach and pushed to be more aggressive by his teammates, Wisconsin intentionally made a call to get Crowl the ball near the low block on the first possession. Seeing him convert by being physical with his back to the basket, unleashing a spin move for an easy bucket was the positive response the staff was looking for.

Crowl’s season-high 18 points against Butler were a catalyst in breaking a three-game losing skid. He did it playing aggressively and in short spurts, playing in just 17 minutes (second-fewest of the season) and going 7-for-10 from the floor (second-most attempts of the year).

“It’s a credit to him,” Gard said. “The 17 minutes that he had, he took full advantage of those.”

The renewed play of Crowl and the growth of Nolan Winter could give Wisconsin a punch to the offense it hasn’t had through the first two months of the season. Crowl and Winter had only reached double figures in the same game once until last Saturday. The duo combined for 38 points and their play helped Wisconsin outscore Butler, 40-to-24, in the paint, its third-highest total for the season and the second-highest paint-scoring differential.

“They play and have pride in playing for what’s on the front of the jersey, knowing that the back of the jersey will get taken care of,” Gard said. “You really get individual accolades through team success. I don’t see a lot of MVP awards being handed out to an 8-25 team.”

Getting to 8-25 would be a huge step forward for Detroit Mercy, which opened last season with a 26-game losing streak and finished 1-31, the worst record in Division-1. Hiring Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery, who has coached with Tom Izzo on two different occasions, the Titans run some patterns similar to the Spartans in addition to executing three-quarters court pressure and zone.

The Titans also have a good player in Lovejoy, as the transfer from Eastern Michigan is one of 10 Division 1 players who averages 13.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Detroit ranks 54th nationally in rebounding, averaging just under 40 per game. The problem the Titans are facing is health, as the Titans have three rotation players averaging at least 8.9 ppg out with injuries. The Titans played 10 student-athletes at NKU, six of those were freshmen who accounted for 101 of the 200 minutes as well as 38 of the 60 points and 22 of the 34 boards.

Wisconsin should handle an undermanned unit, as long as the Badgers aren’t overly rusty from finals week.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin former four-star quarterback Mabrey Mettauer appears headed for transfer portal

Published

9 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Wisconsin former four-star quarterback Mabrey Mettauer appears headed for transfer portal

MADISON – It appears that the Wisconsin football team will have almost a completely new quarterback room next season.

Mabrey Mettauer, the last scholarship player left at the position on the roster from this season, is expected to enter the transfer portal, according to 247sports. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound true freshman from The Woodlands, Texas, was a consensus four-star recruit coming out of high school.

This season he served as the top backup to Braedyn Locke after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending knee injury against Alabama. Mettauer appeared in one game and completed his only pass attempt.

He maintained his redshirt status and will have four years of eligibility remaining.

Mabrey’s departure was the last domino to fall from the firing of Phil Longo as offensive coordinator. Like Van Dyke and Locke, Mettauer came to Wisconsin with the idea that he would play in Longo’s pass-friendly offense.

Locke’s brother, Landyn, a member of the 2025 recruiting class, was also recruited by Longo. Landyn Locke has been released from his letter of intent and has re-opened his recruitment.

After 247sports broken the news of Mettauer’s expected departure he reposted the post on his X and Instagram accounts.

The loss of Mettauer means Wisconsin has three scholarship quarterbacks plus walk-on Milos Spasojevic on the roster for next season:

* Billy Edwards Jr., who started this season at Maryland and threw for 2,800 yards. He has one year of eligibility left.

* Danny O’Neil, who started at San Diego State as a true freshman and threw for 2,000 yards this season. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

* Carter Smith, a four-star prospect from Florida, will enroll early and participate in spring practice.

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14-year-old killed in Wisconsin school shooting shared gifts of music and art with many, friends say

Published

16 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

MADISON, Wis. — Rubi Patricia Vergara was a talented young teenager who often handcrafted gifts for others and shared her musical talents with many, family friends recounted at funeral services held Saturday morning.

14-year-old killed in Wisconsin school shooting shared gifts of music and art with many, friends say

Vergara, 14, was a student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, where she was shot and killed by a fellow student Monday. Teacher Erin West, 42, was also killed in the attack.

“She was a quiet, gentle spirit who cared deeply for others,” City Church lead pastor Tom Flaherty said. “But Rubi also had a faith beyond her years.”

Vergara’s services were held at City Church, which is adjacent to the school. West’s funeral is set for Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, according to her obituary.

Two other injured students remained hospitalized Saturday in critical condition but were stable, UW Hospital said.

A family friend, Dawn Moris, spoke about Vergara’s compassion and empathy. Vergara made personalized birthday cards for loved ones with digital artwork, origami and had started crocheting. Moris showed those in the congregation a small crocheted smiley face potato crafted by Vergara.

“She applied a caring and creative approach to everything she did,” Moris said.

Vergara played keyboard in a family worship band and could hear a song and pick it up on the piano, Moris said. As a singer, she had a special talent of harmonizing and “sang like an angel,” Moris said.

Vergara’s aunt played her niece’s favorite song, “Shoulders” by for King & Country, on the guitar during the service. Her uncle, Andy Remus, thanked the people of Madison for supporting his family this past week.

Police say the shooter, 15-year-old student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, shot herself at the school and died at a Madison hospital. Police have said she was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building. Rupnow’s motivation for the attack remains a key part of their investigation.

Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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