[Madison, WI] – As Wisconsin approaches the one-year anniversary of the riots that left Kenosha burned and communities in Madison and Milwaukee turned upside down, Tony Evers is allowing municipalities to defund the police and make Wisconsinites less safe.
On Friday, Tony Evers vetoed Republicans’ bill that would have disincentivized cities from defunding the police. This comes as small businesses, families and entire communities are suffering from the devastating effects of anti-police rhetoric and police department budget cuts. Wisconsinites living in Madison and Milwaukee have experienced some of the highest violent crime spikes in the country after both Tom Barrett and Satya Rhodes-Conway gutted their law enforcement budgets in 2020.
Meanwhile, Mandela Barnes is also refusing to take a stand against the ‘defund the police’ movement. In a television interview, Charles Blow asked Barnes, “How do you feel about the slogan and the idea behind ‘defund the police’?” Barnes dodged the question, gave a bogus word salad response, and even implied that he supported the movement, saying: “If we make sure people have what they need on the front end, then we won’t even have to have this conversation about where we need a police presence.”
“By their words and actions in support of the ‘defund the police’ movement, Tony Evers and Mandela Barnes are proving that they care more about appeasing the far left and violent criminals than standing up for public safety,” said Republican Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Anna Kelly. “Wisconsin communities are less safe under Tony Evers and Democrat leadership.”