by Benjamin Yount
One Republican state lawmaker is furious with the sentence received by one of the rioters who destroyed two State Capitol statues during Madison’s violent protests in 2020.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, on Thursday said the probation sentence handed down in the case is insulting.
“Judge Josann Reynolds should be ashamed of the sentence, or really the lack of it, she gave to Jacob Capps. It was a complete joke. It wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, it’s almost a pat on the back,” Wanggaard said.
Judge Reynolds on Wednesday sentenced Capps to a three-year probation for being part of a mob that damaged, and in one case decapitated, statues on the statehouse grounds in June of 2020.
Capps pleaded guilty to one count of felony criminal damage to property. The judge also ordered him to pay $5,000 in restitution.
If Capps pays the money, and doesn’t commit any new crimes he could be released from probation in as little as a year-and-a-half.
“Two years after the violence in Madison, Capps was ordered to pay $5,000 and got as little as 18-months probation. The restitution order, if he pays it at all, doesn’t come close to actual costs. And taxpayers will be left holding the bag for everything else,” Wanggaard added.
The angry mob pulled down Wisconsin’s “Forward” statue, and another statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg who was a Union Civil War hero and abolitionist from Wisconsin. His statue was decapitated and the head was lost.
The state says it cost more than $80,000 to repair and reinstall the statues. ‘
Wanggaard said sentencing just one protester to not even a single day of jail time speaks loudly.
“No wonder the rioters in Madison didn’t care about the consequences when they destroyed the Hans Christian Heg statue and tore down ‘Forward.’ There weren’t any,” Wanggaard said. “Destroying downtown Madison? No jail time. No fine. No problem.”
One Republican state lawmaker is furious with the sentence received by one of the rioters who destroyed two State Capitol statues during Madison’s violent protests in 2020.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, on Thursday said the probation sentence handed down in the case is insulting.
“Judge Josann Reynolds should be ashamed of the sentence, or really the lack of it, she gave to Jacob Capps. It was a complete joke. It wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, it’s almost a pat on the back,” Wanggaard said.
Judge Reynolds on Wednesday sentenced Capps to a three-year probation for being part of a mob that damaged, and in one case decapitated, statues on the statehouse grounds in June of 2020.
Capps pleaded guilty to one count of felony criminal damage to property. The judge also ordered him to pay $5,000 in restitution.
If Capps pays the money, and doesn’t commit any new crimes he could be released from probation in as little as a year-and-a-half.
“Two years after the violence in Madison, Capps was ordered to pay $5,000 and got as little as 18-months probation. The restitution order, if he pays it at all, doesn’t come close to actual costs. And taxpayers will be left holding the bag for everything else,” Wanggaard added.
The angry mob pulled down Wisconsin’s “Forward” statue, and another statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg who was a Union Civil War hero and abolitionist from Wisconsin. His statue was decapitated and the head was lost.
The state says it cost more than $80,000 to repair and reinstall the statues. ‘
Wanggaard said sentencing just one protester to not even a single day of jail time speaks loudly.
“No wonder the rioters in Madison didn’t care about the consequences when they destroyed the Hans Christian Heg statue and tore down ‘Forward.’ There weren’t any,” Wanggaard said. “Destroying downtown Madison? No jail time. No fine. No problem.”
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Benjamin Yount is a regular contributor at The Center Square.
Photo “Senator Van Wanggaard” by Senator Van Wanggaard. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Karen Neoh. CC BY 2.0.
