Wisconsin
Wisconsin is the last state that may prosecute Trump’s fake electors, but AG Josh Kaul is mum
Video shows fake electors meeting in the Wisconsin Capitol
A newly released video shows the gathering of Wisconsin’s fake electors on Dec. 14, 2020, in the state Capitol.
Dane County Circuit Court records
After Arizona became the fourth state to bring charges against fake electors involved in the Trump campaign’s alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election Wednesday night, eyes turned to the three remaining states where the effort took place: New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Officials in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have said they are unlikely to prosecute Trump allies who sent documents to then-Vice President Mike Pence purporting to certify Trump won the election in their state, because those fake electors placed certain limits on their claims. That leaves Wisconsin as the state most likely still to pursue charges.
Prosecutors had already filed charges in Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia. In Georgia, defendants include Trump himself, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. And Trump is facing federal charges in Washington, D.C. for conspiracy and obstruction related to the nationwide fake elector scheme. Trump has asked the Supreme Court to declare him immune from those charges.
The top law enforcement official in Wisconsin hasn’t tipped his hand on whether his office is investigating the issue at all, but he also hasn’t ruled out prosecution.
Gillian Drummond, a spokesperson for Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said the department “does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, except in unique public safety circumstances” but that Kaul “believes that those who committed crimes in an effort to unlawfully subvert the outcome of an election should be held accountable.”
Wisconsin was key in the Trump campaign’s fake elector scheme
Ten Wisconsin Republicans signed a document falsely saying they were “the duly elected and qualified electors” for the state, that they had met in Madison, and all had voted for Trump. But they weren’t duly elected or qualified because voters in Wisconsin chose Biden by a margin of just under 21,000 votes.
The fake elector scheme was largely rooted in on a memo that came out of Wisconsin, where a recount in the close race was underway, according to the U.S. Department of Justice indictment of Trump. The memo advocated that a slate of Trump electors should meet and vote for him in case Trump won the recount.
The indictment said Trump’s campaign and others “took the Wisconsin memo and expanded it” to states that Trump said he was contesting, “even New Mexico, where the defendant had lost by more than ten percent of the popular vote.”
Biden won the recount, and Wisconsin’s governor, Democrat Tom Evers, declared Biden’s electors the legitimate ones from the state.
The fake electors wrote in their certificate that they met and voted for Trump on Dec. 14, 2020, the same day that the state supreme court rejected the Trump campaign’s legal challenge. State officials continued rejecting the false claim that Trump won Wisconsin.
While the 10 Wisconsin fake electors have not faced criminal charges, two of the legitimate electors from 2020 sued them along with two lawyers, Jim Troupis and Kenneth Chesebro, involved in the scheme. The Republicans settled the case.
“This is a scheme to overturn the election that was launched here in Wisconsin and then metastisized to those other six states,” said Jeff Mandel, a lawyer with the left-leaning group Law Forward, which represented the legitimate electors. He called Troupis and Chesebro “the linchpins of the scheme for the whole nation.”
Electors in Pennsylvania and New Mexico unlikely to face charges
In Pennsylvania and New Mexico, the fake electors didn’t claim to be the real electors, only the electors whose votes should be counted if Trump succeeded in getting their states to reverse his loss − an important legal caveat.
Pennsylvania’s Trump electors wrote that their votes for Trump should only be counted “if, as the result of final non-appealable court order or other proceeding prescribed by law, we are ultimately recognized as being the duly elected and qualified electors.”
That language represented a watering-down of the original fake electors scheme that Trump’s campaign sought, and was something the campaign didn’t want catching on with other states, according to the Department of Justice’s indictment of Trump for his efforts to overturn the election.
“Though their rhetoric and policy were intentionally misleading and purposefully damaging to our democracy, based on our initial review, our office does not believe this meets the legal standards for forgery,” the office of then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro wrote in a statement to Lancaster Online. Shapiro, a Democrat, is now the governor.
Likewise, New Mexico’s Trump electors wrote that their filing was prepared “on the understanding that it might later be determined that we are the duly and elected qualified electors.”
The office New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez performed an investigation but said the conditional language “prevents the filing of criminal charges.” Instead, Torrez, a Democrat, asked the state legislature to pass new laws safeguarding the state’s elections.
Charges in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada range from forgery to racketeering
The grand jury in Georgia handed down the most sweeping and serious case involving the fake elector scheme. The case charged 19 people — including Trump, Meadows and Giuliani — in a racketeering case under a law usually reserved for Mafia bosses.
The Arizona grand jury charged 18 people — including 11 fake electors, Meadows and Giuliani — with crimes including conspiracy and forgery. The indictment lists Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, charged 16 people with counts that included conspiracy to commit forgery and publishing a false record. The indictment named Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.
In Nevada, a grand jury indicted six fake Trump electors, several of whom were state Republican officials.
Wisconsin
Southeast Wisconsin weather: Snow wrapping up, breezes moving in
The snow is starting to sink south this morning bringing this impressive system to an end for some. There will be the chance for lake-effect snow showers right along the lakefront through this morning as colder air wraps in from the northeast, which could keep roads messy through the morning. Overall, the heaviest bands of snow set up over Dodge, Washington, and Ozaukee counties, where we expect some of the highest snowfall totals to come from as things come to a close.
Skies will start to clear as we get into the afternoon, but winds will pick up as well as the low-pressure system departs. Winds will gust as high as 25 to 30 mph and temperatures will start to tumble this evening. Highs today will sit in the lower 30s falling into the lower teens tonight with wind chills in the single digits.
Things will be a little chilly on Saturday but not a bad day for some winter activities with highs in the mid-20s and a mix of sun and clouds. Expect low 30s on Sunday with mostly cloudy skies as we round out the weekend. A warm up then heads our way towards Christmas with a light mix of rain/snow Monday morning.
FRIDAY: Snow Ends, AM Lake-Effect Near Lake, Breezy & Clearing SkiesHigh: 34
Wind: N 10-20 G 30 mph
TONIGHT: Mostly Clear, Chilly (Wind Chill: Single Digits)
Low: 15
Wind: NNW 10-15 mph
SATURDAY: Partly Cloudy
High: 24
SUNDAY: Mostly Cloudy
High: 31
MONDAY: AM Mix Chance, Mostly Cloudy
High: 38
TUESDAY: Mostly Cloudy
High: 38
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Wisconsin
Teacher from Kennesaw killed in Wisconsin school shooting
Erin West, 42, graduated in 2005 with a degree in early childhood education. She was one of the people who died in a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin
Funerals set for teacher and student killed in Wisconsin school shooting
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Funerals have been set for the student and teacher who were shot and killed by at 15-year-old at a religious school in Wisconsin, while police on Thursday pursued their investigation into the motive.
Abundant Life Christian School student Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison and teacher Erin West, 42, of DeForest were killed in the attack Monday. Police say student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow killed herself at the school and died at a Madison hospital. Two other students who were shot remained hospitalized Thursday in critical condition.
Vergara’s funeral was set for Saturday at City Church, which is adjacent to the school, and West’s funeral is Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, where she was a member, according to obituaries published Wednesday and Thursday.
West had worked at the school for four years and is the mother of three daughters, according to her obituary. She enjoyed camping with family, attending school sporting events, serving at Doxa Church and spending time with her daughters and the rest of her family, the obituary said.
“ALCS is a better school for the work of Erin West,” the school said in a statement.
West worked three years as a substitute teacher before accepting a staff position as the sub coordinator and in-building substitute teacher, according to the statement.
“She served our teachers and students with grace, humor, wisdom, and — most importantly — with the love of Jesus,” the school said. “Her loss is a painful and deep one and she will be greatly missed not just among our staff, but our entire ALCS family.”
Vergara was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to her obituary.
The school described her as gentle and loving.
“Rubi was a blessing to her class and our school,” the school said. “She was not only a good friend, but a great big sister. Often seen with a book in hand, she had a gift for art and music.”
Attempts to obtain comment from relatives of West and Vergara have been unsuccessful.
The shooter brought two guns to the school. A man in California told authorities he had been messaging her about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives, according to a restraining order issued against him Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law. The order required the 20-year-old Carlsbad man to turn his guns and ammunition in to police within 48 hours, but it’s unclear Thursday whether he complied, would be charged or was in custody.
The order didn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also didn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.
A spokesperson for the Carlsbad Police Department said federal authorities were leading the investigation and “we do not believe there is a threat to our city.”
Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said on Wednesday.
Police don’t know if anyone was targeted or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said.
While Rupnow had two handguns, Barnes said he does not know how she obtained them and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said.
Online court records show no criminal cases against her father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or her mother, Mellissa Rupnow. They are divorced and shared custody of their daughter, but she primarily lived with her father, according to court documents.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school of about 420 students that offers prekindergarten classes through high school.
Adam Rostad, who lives near Madison, went to ALCS from kindergarten through high school. His grandfather was pastor of the church that helped establish the school and his mother and aunt both worked there.
Rostad said Thursday that even though he graduated about 20 years ago and doesn’t even consider himself a “church person” any longer, ALCS is family.
He has collected a list of about 440 people who are eager to either cook meals or buy gift cards for those affected, and is coordinating with the school and church to make sure that’s the best way to help.
“Bullets don’t really care what your faith is, or if you have one,” Rostad said. “They really don’t.”
___
Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.
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