Author: Wisconsin Examiner

Milwaukee residents, thousands of whom have marched in the city’s 32 straight days of protest against police violence, were reeling after the arrest of local activist and co-founder of the Community Task Force (COMM Force) Vaun Mayes. Officers from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) pulled Mayes over as he livestreamed a protest on June 29, stating they had a warrant for his arrest. Mayes has since been released, although questions linger over why exactly he was detained. Activists in Milwaukee and around the country are increasingly uneasy about surveillance and arrest by law enforcement. Nevertheless, Milwaukee’s protesters continue marching....

“There’s definitely something going on,” said 39-year-old Milwaukee activist Frank Sensabaugh, better known locally by the long-held nickname “Frank Nitty.” Most of his days recently have been spent either organizing or participating in Milwaukee’s slice of the nation’s re-invigorated Black Lives Matter movement. Nitty, and many others, also suspect the demonstrations have become the targets of electronic surveillance. For Nitty, it started with difficulty livestreaming the events from his Facebook page. “They do that a lot, live feeds will cut out,” he said. “It’ll start getting blurry … or sometimes I’ll be live and I’ll be talking, and my...

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is investigating a chilling incident in Milwaukee’s Riverside Park, on the city’s east side. Nooses were placed in a tree in the park, near laminated cards depicting the photos of Black men and women who’ve been killed by police or citizens in recent years. In a press release, the MCSO noted that descriptions of each individual’s death was also on the cards. “This investigation is ongoing and has identified pertinent information.” The photos, which MCSO became aware of on June 20, depicted Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Botham Jean, Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown, and...