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Wisconsin
Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Wisconsin.
434Documented
2In custody
130Released
1Awaiting trial
Eras of repression in Wisconsin
Where Wisconsin’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.
1940s 250
1930s 47
1910s 33
1960s 23
1970s 22
2020s 19
Recent dashboard entries from Wisconsin
The newest published events and reporting located in Wisconsin, updated automatically from the live dashboard.
Arrest
A man is arrested dousing an Appleton courthouse Pride flag with gasoline
Protest
About 100 rally outside Ridglan Farms, calling for release of the last ~650 beagles and the facility's closure
Protest
A May Day march from Voces de la Frontera to the Federal Building in Milwaukee
Arrest
Palestinian-American community leader Salah Sarsour, a longtime green-card holder, detained by ICE in Milwaukee; rights groups call it retaliation for his pro-Palestinian advocacy
Protest
Hundreds line State Road and Losey Boulevard for a 'No Kings' rally
Arrest
Wayne Hsiung and three activists charged with four felonies each over an "open rescue" of 22 beagles from Ridglan Farms
Prosecution
Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan is found guilty of obstructing ICE agents
Prosecution
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted of felony obstruction for helping an undocumented man avoid ICE agents at her courthouse
Documented cases
434 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
Van L. Mayes
Released
Van L. Mayes, 37, of Milwaukee, allegedly planned to firebomb the Milwaukee PD District 7 station during the A...
Kayley Meissner
Released
Kayley Meissner is an activist from Wisconsin who was arrested on March 5, 2023 at the Atlanta Public Safety T...
James Reynolds Mendoza
Released
James Reynolds Mendoza was a 19-year-old Chicano from Milwaukee's Southside held in the city jail for the July...
Anthony Mullaney
Released
Father Anthony Mullaney was a 39-year-old Benedictine priest of St. Anselms Abbey in Manchester, New Hampshire...
Ed Nehmer
Released
Ed Nehmer was a communist candidate for Wisconsin secretary of state arrested with John Hilty and other member...
Edmund Basil O'Leary
Released
Edmund Basil O'Leary was a De La Salle Christian Brother and professor of economics at Saint Mary's College in...
Fred Ojile
Released
Fred Ojile was a 23-year-old Minneapolis draft counselor and one of the Milwaukee 14. He served 14 months in W...
Kyle Olson
Released
Felon-in-possession of firearm during May 31 2020 Madison unrest. Sentence: 27 months federal prison. Verified...
George Ostensen
Released
Acting as the Harmonic Disarmament for Life action (Aug. 16, 1987), he cut down three ELF poles and damaged co...
Herb Powless
Released
Oneida AIM leader and founder of the Milwaukee chapter of the American Indian Movement, imprisoned at the fede...
Arieon Robinson
Released
Arieon Robinson, 22, is an activist from Wisconsin who was among the first five people arrested at the Stop Co...
Lawrence Rosebaugh
Released
Lawrence Rosebaugh was an Oblate priest born in Appleton, Wisconsin, ordained 1963; co-founder of a Catholic W...
Jeremy J. Ryan
Released
On June 26, 2020 Jeremy J. Ryan, 31, of Madison, WI was charged with making terrorist threats and stalking (bo...
Salah Sarsour
Released
Salah Salem Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and a longtime Palestinian-rights advocate,...
Francis X. Schilling
Released
Francis X. Schilling was from Marathon City, Wisconsin. Francis X. Schilling was sentenced to eighteen months...
Erwin Schwaer
Released
Erwin Schwaer was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Erwin Schwaer began serving a prison sentence on May 3, 1918.
Delmar Schwaller
Released
Delmar Schwaller — SOA Watch line-crosser at Fort Benning, Georgia. Convicted of trespass on a military instal...
Tyshaun T. Smith
Released
Tyshaun T. Smith was arrested by Milwaukee police on May 31, 2020, after investigators accused him of throwing...
Michael Sprong
Released
Michael Sprong was part of the Silence Trident direct disarmament action against Project ELF, the U.S. Navy's...
Bonnie Urfer
Released
Bonnie Urfer is a longtime Nukewatch staff member and anti-nuclear activist who has been arrested more than fi...
Jesse White
Released
Jesse White (also spelled Jessie White) was a member of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin chapter of the Black Panther...
Christian Yearous
Released
Christian Yearous was a sixty-one-year-old farmer from Wisconsin. Christian Yearous alleged he was "framed up...
Jerome Zawada
Released
Father Jerome 'Jerry' Zawada OFM was a Franciscan friar of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Province...
Alberto de Jesús Berríos
Released
Alberto de Jesús Berríos was a Puerto Rican independence activist — for years a distributor of the Puerto Rica...
Institutions in Wisconsin
Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Wisconsin that appear in the census’s case files.
FCI OxfordOxford, Wisconsin
11 cases
Milwaukee House of CorrectionMilwaukee, Wisconsin
11 cases
Dane County JailMadison, Wisconsin
8 cases
Ashland County JailAshland, Wisconsin
5 cases
Dane County Circuit Court
2 cases
Wisconsin state prisonMilwaukee, Wisconsin
2 cases
Wisconsin State PrisonWaupun, Wisconsin
2 cases
U.S. Federal Custom House Jail, MilwaukeeMilwaukee, Wisconsin
1 case