Johnson: Evers and Barnes incited rioters
Says they didn’t quickly halt unrest in Kenosha
As he stepped up his campaign for reelection, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson charged in an interview that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes “incited” rioters in Kenosha.
While Republicans have blamed Democratic leaders for not quickly suppressing the 2020 summer riots that swept through Kenosha after the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer, Johnson’s comment escalated the accusation as he claimed that Evers and Barnes spurred on rioters.
In an interview that aired Sunday on WISN-TV’s “UpFront,” Johnson said: “The Kenosha riots should have ended after one night. But it didn’t because Governor Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes actually incited the rioters and refused to provide the type of manpower to quell the riots.”
Evers campaign spokesman Sam Roecker fired back that Johnson and Wisconsin Republicans “are spreading pants-on-fire lies about Kenosha and other tragedies to try to score political points and divide our state.”
“The fact is that the governor called in the National Guard within 11 hours, doubled the Guard’s presence every night, and provided immediate support with police officers from surrounding areas and the State Patrol,” Roecker said in a statement.
Barnes’ campaign manager, Kory Kozloski, called Johnson’s comments “ridiculous” claiming “they’re just another one of his pitiful attempts to distract from the fact that he’s wasted his decade in Washington doubling his personal wealth, calling for the outsourcing of American jobs and delivering millions in tax breaks for his megadonors.”
In a video address after the first night of unrest, Evers asked those protesting to “do so peacefully.” Later, in a news release, Evers said: “We should not tolerate violence against any person.”
Evers authorized the deployment of 125 members of the Wisconsin National Guard after the first night of unrest, later increasing troop numbers to 250 and then 500.
It was the first time since announcing his run for reelection that Johnson criticized by name one of his potential Democratic rivals, Barnes, who is running in a crowded U.S. Senate primary.
Johnson has frequently attacked Democrats on safety issues.
In one of his first TV campaign ads, titled “Stand and Fight,” Johnson said, “Democrat policies have been disastrous for America,” and he talked of “Kenosha set on fire, a growing number of murders in Milwaukee and the Waukesha Christmas Parade turned into a terrible tragedy.”
The latter was a reference to a low $1,000 bail recommended in an earlier case involving Waukesha parade suspect Darrell Brooks. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, a Democrat, said the bail recommendation was made in error by a prosecutor under his supervision.
Johnson has previously assailed Evers and Barnes on Kenosha.
Before a September 2020 visit to Kenosha by then-President Donald Trump, Johnson said that instead of working with Trump, Evers and Barnes “made statements, leaped to conclusions and have participated in rallies that have done more to incite than calm the situation.” Johnson’s statement was labeled as “false” by PolitiFact.
Barnes appeared at a rally and march in Kenosha days after the unrest ended and told the crowd “justice should be guaranteed to everyone in this country.” The march was led by the family of Jacob Blake Jr., the man shot by a police officer who responded to a domestic disturbance.