Posted on 10/21/2015 8:29:08 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
“This bill is about people being terrorized in their own home.”
Those were the words of Wisconsin State Rep. state Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, (R-New Berlin) last night at the state legislature debated a bill that would limit the power, scope, and length of the state’s “John Doe” procedure.
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the exciting news – as our Wisconsin bureau chief, Matt Kittle,emailed me in the wee hours of this morning to let me know that the bill passed both houses and is headed to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all your loyal support that made it happen.
As you may remember, we’ve been working on this for nearly two years now, writing more than 250 news stories, as our Wisconsin Watchdog bureau is the leading media outlet credited with uncovering, exposing, and shutting down a John Doe investigation that terrorized more than two dozen Wisconsin citizens. This summer, the Wisconsin Supreme Court finally stepped in and put a stop to it.
Now this bill which passed last night ensures that Wisconsinites are safe from the predawn, paramilitary-style raids that are a John Doe investigation’s hallmark. Typical of the John Doe raids was one account shared on the Wisconsin House floor, of 16-year-old boy who was at home alone when armed law enforcement raided his home, rooted through his family’s possessions and told him he could contact neither his parents nor an attorney.
When our Wisconsin Watchdog reporters, led by Matt Kittle, learned that this was happening, they couldn’t let it stand. They put everything on the line to expose the truth – even risking jail time to protect their sources, since John Doe investigations place gag orders on those under investigation.
Along the way, courtroom decisions, other media, and state legislators on both sides of the aisle have credited our reporting as the driving force that exposed John Doe, closed down the investigation – and now got this landmark reform bill passed. But we truly couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for standing with us.
The John Doe case was fundamentally about free speech and the right of citizens to participate in democracy. Those who used the John Doe investigation did so as a political weapon against them, simply because they didn’t like the outcome of an election. There will always be more challenges to our rights of free speech and citizen participation, and surely many will crop up in new places as we head into 2016. Thanks to you, our reporters will be equipped to investigative, expose, and halt these attacks on our liberties.
Warm regards,
Erik Telford (Editor Watchdog.org)
So John Chisholm ( will be indicted and prosecuted?
I was watching a documentary this afternoon on the rise of the KKK after WWII. After a decline in membership, the KKK was surging to new levels. They boasted 10,000 members in Atlanta, alone.
One thing they had in common with Wisconsin’s John Doe was SECRECY. The basis of their power and their terror was SECRECY. It’s good that our Legislators had the wisdom to change this awful law. I’m sure that Scott will sign it quickly.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Well, Kevin Kennedy is now out of a job since his little playground has been disbanded and reorganized. I hope that they indict him and yank his pension as well.
I wish. His wife needs to be too for what she did.
I remember his wife was the instigator. Is that true?
I’m glad they got this done, and I’m also glad that Scott Walker will be staying at the helm after all he’s done to make Wisconsin better, and especially now that these nazi-like tactics will be a thing of the past.
Until the progs come up with something equally diabolical...
The tyrants will find a way around it.
Not if the law includes a death penalty provision. At least not the same tyrants.
This is good news. Do you think there will be any indictments for Chisholm down the road?
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