Kenosha killing lawsuit filed; election outcome questioned; unauthorized use of tear gas; MKE suburbs elusive for Biden; ICE has gaps in COVID-19 data
Of note: This week we highlight a story about the first lawsuit filed in the wake of the killing of two protesters and wounding of a third by an armed teenager who answered the call to patrol the streets of Kenosha on Aug. 25.
The lawsuit was filed against Facebook, the Racine Guard, former Kenosha City Council member Kevin Mathewson and Ryan Balch, a militia member who claimed to have played a “tactical” role that fateful night. It was brought by a survivor of Anthony Huber, one of the two men killed, and three protesters who say they were threatened and harassed by the armed civilians. Wisconsin Watch earlier reported that Mathewson had invited militia to come to the city and Balch claimed police herded protesters toward the militia.
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4 file federal lawsuit against Facebook, Kyle Rittenhouse, militia groups in wake of Kenosha protest shootings
Wisconsin State Journal — September 24, 2020
Four people have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that Facebook prevent militias and hate groups from using the site after the platform was used to draw armed people to protests in Kenosha that left two people dead and one wounded.
The election that could break America
The Atlantic — November issue
There is a cohort of close observers of our presidential elections, scholars and lawyers and political strategists, who find themselves in the uneasy position of intelligence analysts in the months before 9/11. As November 3 approaches, their screens are blinking red, alight with warnings that the political system does not know how to absorb. But a Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman later responded that state statute does not give state lawmakers the authority to choose electors — one of the strategies outlined in reporter Barton Gellman’s piece.
Tear gas used against fleeing protesters without authorization
Isthmus — September 18, 2020
Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney told Isthmus on Aug. 27 that noxious gas was deployed at the intersection of West Dayton and North Carroll streets — without authorization by Madison police command staff — because of an exigent threat to the safety of his deputies. But city surveillance camera footage of the incident, obtained by Isthmus, shows protesters didn’t hurl any heavy objects at deputies in riot gear.
American suburbs are tilting for Biden. But not Milwaukee’s.
The New York Times — September 23, 2020
The predominantly white neighborhoods outside Wisconsin’s largest city, among the nation’s most racially segregated suburbs, could be a key part of President Trump’s narrowing path to re-election.
Where ICE reports COVID-19 cases
Reveal — September 10, 2020
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began publishing data on coronavirus cases in its detention centers in late March, soon after the agency reported the first case of COVID-19 among people in its custody. But there are many gaps in that data, Reveal found.
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
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