Wisconsin calls in National Guard after protesters topple statue, attack Democrat state senator
Wisconsin GOP State Sen. Kathleen Bernier says the protesters' demands are not realistic.
A "mob" of Democratic protesters in Wisconsin calling for the defunding of law enforcement and removal of public historical statues are "hell-bent on mass destruction," GOP State Sen. Kathleen Bernier said Thursday.
In an interview on "Fox & Friends" with host Brian Kilmeade, Bernier said she believed the Tuesday evening attack of her Democratic counterpart, State Sen. Tim Carpenter, at the hands of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters had finally lit a fire under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to take action.
"Well, I think the governor felt that if he let them blow off steam that somehow they would, you know, kind of burn out and let the rest take its course. But, I think the fact that Sen. Carpenter was severely beaten by BLM that he then decided to call in the National Guard," she said.
Carpenter was pummeled at the Wisconsin State Capitol late Tuesday after taking a photo of some protesters involved in a violent clash that included two statues being toppled.
“I don’t know what happened,” he later told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “All I did was stop and take a picture and the next thing I’m getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head.”
The Madison Police Department told Fox News that the Capitol Police will likely handle the case.
The violence began after a group of 200 to 300 protesters marched through downtown Madison, initially blocking intersections and obstructing driveways, Madison Police Department said in an incident report. The situation escalated when the group reached the State Capitol grounds.
Statues of Lady Forward, and Col. Hans Christian Heg, who fought and died during the Civil War on the Union side, were torn down and removed from the grounds. Both statues were later recovered, a city official told the Wisconsin State Journal, noting that protesters had removed the leg of Heg.
Wisconsin's Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes tweeted after the incident that he was "very disappointed to see what happened" to Carpenter because Carpenter was "on the proper side."
"That says they can beat me up because I'm a Republican senator," Bernier remarked.
"They are just hellbent on mass destruction. And, they’re a mob. And, they are going to take out anyone or everyone and they want something – [they] apparently communicated that they want all of the money that we spend on police and protection to go to community programs. That isn't even realistic in any way, shape, or form," she added.
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"Do you think the governor understands that?" asked Kilmeade.
"I think he does now.," she replied. "I'm not sure what the governor understands. Most of his communication goes through his staff. So, you know, and then...he recorded conversations he had with the leadership and our caucus."
"So, I'm not sure what's going on with Governor Evers, to be perfectly honest," Bernier said.
Fox News' Edmund DeMarche and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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