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Minocqua Brewing Company Owner Wants to "Unmask" ICE
The latest lawsuit from the founder of the Minocqua Brewing Company looks to force immigration agents to let people know who they are.
Kirk Bangstad on Tuesday announced that he has filed a federal class action lawsuit seeking to force U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to publicly display their names, badge numbers, and agency insignia.
“Wisconsinites deserve to know who is policing their communities,” Bangstad said in a statement. “When ICE agents hide their identities, it creates an environment ripe for abuse—both by ICE officers themselves and by impersonators who use the cover of anonymity to assault, rob, and terrorize women.”
Bangstad is not alone in wanting to dox ICE agents in Wisconsin. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, last month introduced a piece of legislation that requires officers and agents to "identify themselves as officers or agents and display their name and badge number." The legislation would also require those agents and officers "to not cover their faces or use another disguise for the purpose of concealing their identity."
Bangstad said, "with Republicans controlling the state legislature, the bill has little chance of advancing."
“If ICE agents are allowed to intimidate without accountability today, they’ll be doing the same to voters tomorrow,” Bangstad said. “We must act now to protect both our communities and our democracy.”
Bangstad said in his statement that he first asked Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to file the lawsuit, but he said Kaul declined.
Bangstad has a history of filing politically-motivated lawsuits in Wisconsin.
In the past he has sued over COVID mask requirements and school choice. He did not win either of those cases.
The ICE identity lawsuit Wisconsin’s Western District Court by Bangstad's Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC.
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