Wisconsin man arrived at state Capitol with assault rifle after earlier arrest with handgun

A Wisconsin man has been arrested for the second time for carrying an assault rifle into the state Capitol demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI), after he entered the building earlier in the day with a handgun.

State Department of Administration spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick said on Thursday that the man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governor’s office on the first floor around 2 p.m. He demanded to see Evers, who was not in the state Capitol at that time.

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The man, who has not been named, was arrested for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed, and the person has a valid permit. The man arrested did not have a concealed carry permit, she said.

He was brought to Dane County Jail and posted bail. The man later returned to the state Capitol on Wednesday evening around 8:45 p.m. with an assault rifle. The building is closed to the public, and the man, again, demands to see Evers. The state Capitol does not have metal detectors.

Madison police reported on Thursday that officers responded to the Capitol for reports of a subject carrying an “automatic rifle on capitol grounds.” The man was taken into protective custody and taken to the hospital.

Both the handgun and the assault rifle were loaded at the time the man entered the building, Warrick said. A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of the suite holding the governor’s office, as well as conference rooms and offices for the attorney general.

“The Capitol police took control of the situation, so it’s over, but it’s always something you don’t want to see happen,” Evers told reporters on Thursday.

He added that he does not comment on his security but is sure that Capitol police are evaluating any potential changes.

“I never, ever talk about what my security detail does or what they’re planning on doing,” Evers said. “But anytime something like this happens, obviously they reevaluate.”

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Warrick said no immediate changes to the Capitol or to Evers’s security have been planned as of now.

This is the latest in a string of threats to governors and other public officials. Evers was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his home in 2022. Also on the list were Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Senate Minority Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Whitmer was also the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020. Nine of the 14 defendants in that case have been convicted.