Armed Man Seeks Governor at Wisconsin Capitol Twice in Same Day
A man who was arrested at the Wisconsin state Capitol on Wednesday for allegedly carrying a handgun into the building illegally returned hours later with a rifle, police said.
WMTV in Madison reported a man entered the building in the afternoon at around 2 p.m. in search of Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The man, whose identity has not been released, approached the front counter at the Capitol shirtless and carrying a holstered pistol on his waist.
He reportedly demanded to see Evers, and he was arrested on a charge of openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol.
The man was booked into the Dane County Jail and released on bail shortly thereafter.
Guns are permitted in the building as long as they are concealed and the carrier holds a valid permit, which the armed man did not have.
The governor was not in the building at the time. The Associated Press, citing a Capitol police bulletin, reported the man allegedly said he wished to see Evers, so the two could discuss the issue of “domestic abuse towards men.”
He reportedly added that “he would not leave until he saw Gov. Evers.”
According to WMTV, the man was not satisfied after he left the Capitol without seeing Evers, and he returned later in the evening after he had bonded out of jail.
This time, he was armed with a loaded rifle, as well as a police baton.
The Madison Police Department assisted state Capitol Police officers with the arrest, which occurred shortly before 9 p.m.
A post about the incident from the department on its call blog stated that a call for help came at 8:44 in the evening.
“Officers responded to assist Capitol PD with a report of a subject carrying an automatic rifle on capitol grounds,” the department’s call blog said.
It added, “The subject was taken into protective custody and conveyed to a local hospital.”
It is not clear why the man was hospitalized, but no charges against him had been filed as of Thursday afternoon, the AP reported.
During his second arrest, according to the bulletin Capitol officers sent out, the man said he “did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them.”
Evers thanked law enforcement officers for their efforts to keep both him and the building safe in remarks to reporters on Thursday.
“I’m okay,” the governor said. “To their credit the Capitol police took control of the situation and it’s over, but that’s always something that is … things you don’t want to see happen, but that’s why we have good people in the police department and Capitol police and State Patrol.
“They’re doing their great work.”
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