Ashley S.
1/5
Gregg Walker does not believe in free or protected speech, and he’ll be sure to use those deep pockets of his to sue you:
“Maybe we should pay Bangstad a salary of $15-$20 an hour so he can keep running his business, but set up a receivership that gives all of the Minocqua Brewing Company’s profits to Gregg Walker.”
This quote was paraphrased from Forest County’s Judge Leon Stenz as he refused a motion to stop the collection of the largest defamation award in Wisconsin’s history ($750K) by the publisher of Wisconsin’s most right-wing newspaper (The Lakeland Times) until an appeal has been heard.
On this Memorial Day Weekend, we’re supposed to be remembering American soldiers who gave their lives to defend our constitution, which includes a set of rights that we universally hold dear.
While I will do that for America, a democratic republic for which I have fought with every ounce of my being since the 2020 election, I will also weep for Northern Wisconsin, my beloved home where those same rights no longer mean what they used to.
I was shown last week that the rights our American soldiers gave their lives to protect--the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—are no longer protected in Northern Wisconsin. The right to free speech, which is the first and most important amendment to our constitution, at least in the eyes of Forest County Judge Leon Stenz, is less important than making sure that a progressive activist pays a steep price for his silver-tongued impertinence.
Here's the story:
Last Thursday, Judge Stenz--the only judge in a one of Wisconsin’s smallest counties; a judge who has very little experience in trying defamation cases--determined that among all of the complex issues that needed to be considered, it was of utmost importance that Gregg Walker, one of the wealthiest men in Oneida County, should be immediately paid three quarters of a million dollars before this case was heard by a higher court.
He also deemed that my paying that fine was MORE FAIR than making my insurance company pay for it—an insurance company with deep pockets that had already assumed responsibility for my legal defense—a defense that resulted in a historic loss and set a terrible legal precedent that private citizens can’t criticize members of the media.
As you can imagine, I was stunned when Judge Stenz rendered his decision last Thursday afternoon. All I could think about was that the words coming out of his mouth had everything to do with vengeance and little to do with the rule of law.
Simply put, our judicial system won’t save us. Not in Northern Wisconsin, nor in the highest court in the land. Politics is currently trumping equal justice under the law (pun intended), and OUR COUNTRY IS IN DANGER.
The ONLY solution is to win and win overwhelmingly next November. A close election may very well doom our democracy, but an overwhelming win may just save it.
We are in a death struggle for the future of our country. This should be the last election for both Trump and Biden - hopefully. People may not love our choices, but the choice couldn’t be clearer.
There’s nothing I can do at this point other than to depend on my lawyers to save my neck, but I can, yet again, shout at the top of my lungs that each and every reasonable Wisconsinite must join this fight NOW--not later.
This is not a battle between progressives and conservatives, this is a battle between the rule of law and the politics of authoritarianism and vengeance.
This battle has been fought and won before by Americans, both within our country and around the world, and those victories are the reason we are able to memorialize our fallen soldiers this weekend.
Their heroic torches have been passed to us to keep fighting for our country, and this upcoming election will be the most important fight for democracy that a large majority of Americans will experience in their lifetimes.
Thanks for reading.
Kirk Bangstad
Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC
