Free Republic

A federal judge ordered immigration officials to release the president of Wisconsin's largest mosque from detention Thursday, finding that Salah Sarsour has raised a "substantial" claim that he was being targeted for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights. Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 30. The government has claimed he is a foreign policy threat, but Sarsour's attorneys say he was actually targeted for speaking out against Israel. U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon wrote in a decision Thursday that attorneys for...

Once again, former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan’s request for a retrial has been denied. On Tuesday, a federal judge refused to overturn Dugan’s felony conviction for obstructing immigration agents. Here are the details: Dugan was originally scheduled to be sentenced for her crimes on June 3rd. However, that hearing was postponed until the court could decide whether or not to overturn the conviction. AP News reported further: The case against Hannah Dugan, who resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court following her conviction, was an early test of how the courts would respond to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown....

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota on Tuesday announced that 15 Antifa members have been indicted for their alleged roles in conspiring to hinder federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis earlier this year. The suspects, 12 of whom are in custody, are all charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, according to a 94-page criminal complaint, and some are charged with further crimes. Federal prosecutors allege that each suspect took part in a conspiracy to obstruct federal immigration enforcement officers, including ICE personnel, through force, intimidation and threats

Normally, nobody should cheer when a Wisconsin business loses its stock. Jobs, rent, suppliers, and familiar faces that sit behind every taproom door. But Minoqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad has spent years turning beer into a vessel for political contempt, and now the state says the rules caught up with him.Officials seized canned beer from his business, alleging Illinois-brewed beer had been brought into Wisconsin without the required permits or licenses. Bangstad said the state took about $25,000 worth after he failed to pay Wisconsin taxes on beer sold and stored at his Minocqua and Madison, Wisc. locations, as...

'Nude isn't lewd': World Naked Bike Ride returns to Madison this June The 12-mile ride is a protest against oil dependency — and a statement that every body has a place in public. MADISON, Wis. -- Whether you love it, hate it or just tolerate it, the World Naked Bike Ride will return to Madison later this month. Organizers said the ride will begin at 11 a.m. on June 20. Madison is one of dozens of cities holding a ride worldwide. Organizers expect 160-200 people to join this year's event. The annual ride serves as a protest against oil dependency...

President Donald Trump reportedly walked out of a weekend interview with NBC News anchor Kristen Welker — some of which aired during Sunday’s broadcast of “Meet the Press.” The interview was recorded in Wisconsin on Friday, and NBC News anchor Gabe Gutierrez revealed during a broadcast on Saturday that Trump abruptly ended the interview — after giving Welker nearly an hour of his time — as the two clashed over her questions about election integrity. WATCH: “As for that interview, Kristen and the ‘Meet the Press’ team conducted it here in Wisconsin inside a barn at the request of the...

Here’s another painful reminder to never follow the leftists who smugly told us to “follow the science”: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin can’t seem to tell a cow from a bull. That’s not only embarrassing in America’s Dairyland, such confusion during milking could prove fatal. In a now-deleted social media post, the party welcomed National Dairy Month with an image of wispy white clouds, blues skies, and two beefy bulls. As others in my beloved purple home state have helpfully pointed out, you can’t milk a bull. And, again, pity the fool who tries. Actually, the mistake is quite fitting...

There seems to be no shortage of crazy passengers on commercial flights these days. A United Airlines flight heading to Minnesota on Friday was forced to make an emergency landing in Wisconsin after one of the passengers aboard allegedly tried to get into the cockpit. This was according to audio from air traffic control. The flight departed from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Friday evening and landed in Madison, Wisconsin, instead of Minneapolis for security reasons surrounding the out-of-control passenger. Flight tracking data showed that the plane landed approximately 90 minutes after takeoff. Fox News Reported: A United Airlines...

Americans long have leavened their powerful global image with goofiness, a cheerful confidence that can deflect international wonder over certain strains of ignorance into a smile. Behold, for example, the cheesehead hat. Made of sofa foam and sunny yellow defiance, the hat was created in the late 1980s in response to the taunting faced by supporters of sports teams in Wisconsin, which has long called itself America’s dairyland. “Cheeseheads!” residents of neighboring Illinois said. The insult was embraced and, yes, turned on its head — particularly in the realm of a certain football team named the Green Bay Packers. Soon,...

According to WisDOT, the motorist removed a "road closed" barrier, and proceeded to drive onto the freshly-poured roadway.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Federal judges in Maine and Wisconsin on Thursday dismissed lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to compel the states to hand over detailed voter registration information. U.S. District Judge James Pederson in Wisconsin said the state’s voter registration list is not a record that can be requested under the Civil Rights Act of 1960, as President Donald Trump’s administration argued. In Maine, Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker described the government’s claim as “half-hearted” and granted a state motion to dismiss it. The rulings were the latest in a string of defeats for...

An icon of Milwaukee’s beer baron era has been discontinued by Pabst Brewing Co., but Wisconsin Brewing is planning one last toast to Schlitz this summer. The “beer that made Milwaukee famous” is dead. Schlitz, a brand that began in Milwaukee in 1858, has been discontinued by its corporate parent, Pabst Brewing Co. The move is part of a wave of culling of its nostalgia-driven brands. The news comes, oddly enough, from Wisconsin Brewing Co., which announced on Thursday afternoon that it would be brewing “the last Schlitz” at its brewery in Verona next weekend. Pabst confirmed the move on...

VERONA, Wis. -- It's the end of an era for one of Wisconsin's most iconic beers. Pabst Brewing Co. is no longer brewing Schlitz, the brew that played a huge role in cementing Milwaukee as America's Beer Capital. The last batch will be brewed, not by Pabst, but by Wisconsin Brewing Company in Verona. WBC Brewmaster Kirby Nelson said he'll be basing this final batch on operations logs from 1948, when Schlitz was in its prime. The beer was America's top-seller in 1950. "Since Schlitz is ‘The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous,’ I decided to brew a beer that would...

A conservative law firm is suing state officials in federal court challenging Wisconsin’s ban on conversion therapy, arguing it amounts to unconstitutional “viewpoint discrimination.” The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, or WILL, announced the litigation Wednesday, saying it filed suit on behalf of licensed counselors Terri Koschnick and Joy Buchman, who both provide Christian faith-based counseling services. Gov. Tony Evers, Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dan Hereth and members of the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board are named as defendants in the suit.

As good, pro-business, pro-prosperity conservatives, we should love a success story like Buc-ee's, and I'm pretty darn sure most of you readers do. I'm a recent convert to Buc-ee's myself, having first experienced this wonderful mega-convenience store/souvenir store/truck stop/fast food joint for myself just last February, on a feral hog hunting jaunt to Texas. It's a great place, a great business model, and they have great barbecue brisket sandwiches. Now, in the next year or two, they will be expanding into at least six new states. At least six states are slated to open their first Buc-ee's locations by the...

The billionaire owner of the Milwaukee Bucks was allegedly blackmailed by a Chinese-born divorcée after he hooked up with her — and she demanded half his fortune and hid compromising material in a box of sanitary pads, according to federal prosecutors. Wesley Edens, 64, who is also the co-founder of Wall Street investment firm Fortress Investment Group and owner of the Aston Villa soccer team, had sex with Changli “Sophia” Luo, 46, after she slid into his LinkedIn DMs in 2022, according to federal prosecutors and the Wall Street Journal reported. After Edens, who was newly divorced, had a night...

A Milwaukee woman is facing multiple felony charges after prosecutors accused her of carrying out Medicaid fraud, PPP loan fraud and money laundering schemes tied to her home health care business. What we know: The Wisconsin Department of Justice charged 44-year-old Debbie Long with five felonies, including fraud and money laundering. ederal prosecutors said Long owned Pinnacle Home Health Care, LLC, a company that provided personal care services to Medicaid members, including mobility assistance, meal preparation and bathing services. From March 2017 through August 2022, prosecutors allege Long billed Wisconsin Medicaid for exaggerated or fabricated services, including inflated billing, fraudulent...

Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad, who offered free beer in the event of President Donald Trump's death, announced his bid for Wisconsin governor on Sunday. "I’m running for Governor because I believe Wisconsin needs a battle-hardened fighter to join the rest of America to save our Democracy from Trump’s regime, and that person doesn’t exist in the crowded field of Democrats currently running in Wisconsin’s Gubernatorial primary," Bangstad wrote in a Substack post on Sunday. Bangstad's announcement came a little over a week after his brewery advertised free beer in the event of Trump's death. The Facebook comments came...

Kirk Bangstad, the owner of the Wisconsin brewery who offered free beer for President Trump’s assassination, has doxxed the phone numbers of agents who visited him over his threat and told his followers to harass the agents. Call Wisconsin’s Division of Alcohol and demand the removal of his license.

MADISON, WI - Multiple downtown streets are expected to be impacted Friday for an immigrant rights protest. The march segments of the event are expected to start between 12:40pm and 1 p.m. and will originate from three different locations – East High School, West High School, and Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin campus. The marches are planned to end at 2 p.m. on the Capitol Square. Residents are asked to plan for extra time when traveling in the area. All Madison schools are closed as teachers are expected to participate for this event called "A Day Without Immigrants,"...