Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers’ Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists.
Michael Vieth’s crime was horrific. He raped an Amish girl because he was upset an Amish horse made him swerve his car in a ditch a couple weeks before.
For that, he targeted the teen, abducting her as she walked home from school.
According to an old article in the La Crosse Tribune, Vieth was 24 years old when the judge sentenced him for kidnapping, rape and reckless endangerment.
Vieth “singled Amish people out as victims,” Judge Steven Abbott said at Vieth’s sentencing. He fired “seven shots into a buggy” containing an adult and three kids and then “kidnapped and assaulted the Amish girl who was walking home from school in the town of Wilton.”
“This man fired 20-some bullets into three vehicles and raped a child,” the DA said.
According to a 1996 Associated Press article, Vieth abducted the girl as she walked home from substitute teaching, “sexually assaulting her in his car.”
In another incident, he injured an Amish horse by shooting “at an Amish horse and buggy with a .22-caliber rifle.”
Vieth stated he wanted to “get even with them,” referring to the Amish.
He also said he abducted the girl as a “way to get one up on the Amish.”
The Beaver Dam Daily Citizen reported at the time that the girl told Vieth “it would be a sin for her to remove her underclothes and then he cut them off with a carpenter’s knife before raping her,” the Dail Citizen reported. He kept her in the car for three hours.
Evers’ Parole Commission Freed Michael Vieth Early
Date paroled: 3/08/2022 [You can check his parole date here in the DOC database. Put in his name and then click “movement”]
Current residence: Elroy, WI
Age: 51
Convicted: Kidnapping – Use of a Dangerous Weapon; 1st Deg. Sexual Assault-Use/Dang.Weapon; 1st-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety -Use of a Dangerous Weapon (4 counts)
Sentence: 60 years. His mandatory release date is not until 2035. His release was discretionary.
Other: Registered Sex Offender
The Victim: 15-year-old Amish girl
What the Killer Did:
An AP news article reported that, in November 1995, Vieth, 24, abducted the 15-year-old Amish girl in rural Wilton as she walked home from substitute teaching and raped her in his car. Vieth cut off her underclothes after she told him it would be a sin for her to remove them, according to the criminal complaint.
The motive: anger.
“When he drinks he is a loose cannon,” the judge said. He was convicted before of shooting “into other occupied vehicles.”
Earlier that day, Vieth had shot at an Amish horse and buggy with a .22-caliber rifle. The buggy was carrying a man and three children, but only the horse was injured.
Vieth was arrested after a three-day manhunt.
District Attorney John Matousek said Vieth’s punishment was inadequate.
“I argued for 155 years, based on the fact he had a previous incident in 1987 in which he shot a dozen bullets in two different vehicles,″ he said. “I wasn’t going to have the blood of any future victims on my hands.”
Its been considered the most talked about crime in the history of Monroe County.
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed her supporters and the nation at her alma mater Howard University in Washington, D.C. Wednesday afternoon, where she publicly conceded the race to former President Donald Trump.
Harris – the 60-year-old former California Attorney General and U.S. senator currently serving as vice president – called for loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and the peaceful transition of power in her speech.
She clearly conceded the race and pledged to help former President Donald Trump with the transition.
“My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve,” Harris said to begin her remarks. “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when i say the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”
Harris thanked her family, supporters, her team, President Joe Biden, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and poll workers.
“Over the 107 days of this campaign we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, united by love and country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future,” Harris said. “And we did it with the knowledge that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.”
Harris’ comments come as voting results continued to pour in showing former President Donald Trump either winning or leading in all seven swing states, putting him over 300 electoral votes and a roughly 5 million vote lead in the popular vote.
Now, Harris is expected to certify the election in early January ahead of Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.
“We must accept the results of this election,” Harris said in her remarks. “I also told [Trump] that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transition of power.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people,” Harris continued.
Harris reportedly called Trump to concede the race earlier Wednesday afternoon. Harris held off on addressing her supporters or calling Trump into the early morning Wednesday as results poured in and made her path to the White House impossible.
Trump gave his own remarks early Wednesday, promising a new “golden age” in America.
“Frankly, I believe this was the greatest political movement of all time, and maybe beyond,” Trump said, promising to “help our country heal.”
President Joe Biden also reportedly called to congratulate Trump, who outperformed expectations on Tuesday after indictments, assassination attempts and constant media criticism in a historic political comeback.
No president has had two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland, who was elected president for the second time in 1892.
In her speech, Harris laid out some of the policy or ideological issues that motivated her campaign, pledging to continue to fight for those ideas.
She also spoke an encouraging message to the young people in attendance at her speech.
“To everyone who is watching … this is not a time to throw up our hands,” Harris said. “This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”
(The Center Square) – Incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin defeated Republican challenger Eric Hovde in a race declared Wednesday afternoon.
Baldwin held a lead of 28,958 votes with 49.38% of the vote to Hovde’s 48.52%.
“The voters have spoken and our campaign has won,” Baldwin wrote on social media. “Wisconsinites chose someone who always puts them first, shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done. I'm proud to head back to the Senate to keep fighting for our workers, farmers, and families that make our state great.”
Wisconsinites chose someone who always puts them first, shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done. I'm proud to head back to the Senate to keep fighting for our workers, farmers, and families that make our state great.
If the difference remains less than 1%, Hovde will automatically qualify for a re-count.
After the unofficial tallies are done, a canvas must be complete and filed by Nov. 19. Then Hovde would have three days from the time the final canvas is received to ask for a recount.
Republican leaders, including Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming, pointed toward third-party candidate Thomas Leager, who received 28,717 votes in the U.S. Senate race. Leager was found to have been funded by Democratic firms and donors despite saying that he was recruited to run by the Patriots Run Project.
Schimming called Leager and the America First party a “fake candidate under a fake party name.”
“Democrats have to come in and pose as something they are not,” Schimming said.
Schimming said that he would work with Hovde’s campaign to determine if they will ask for a recount, saying it is a “very very close race.” That decision has not been made yet, Schimming said.
(The Center Square) – Third District Congressman Rep. Derrick Van Orden defeated Rebecca Cooke in a race that was called late Wednesday morning by multiple outlets.
Van Orden, the Republican incumbent, had 51.35% of the vote with 211,696 to Cooke’s 48.65% with 200,556 votes in the district that includes Eau Claire and areas south of the city and extending east toward Oshkosh.
Incumbents won seven of the eight U.S. House seats in Wisconsin as the Republicans hold a 6-2 advantage in the state.
Republican Tony Wied topped Democrat Kristin Lyerly in the 8th District to fill an empty seat held by Republican Mike Gallagher until his April 24 resignation. Wied received 57.3% of the vote to Lyerly’s 42.7%.
Republican incumbent Reps. Bryan Steil (1st District), Scott Fitzgerald (5th District), Glenn Grothman (6th District) and Tom Tiffany (7th District) won races along with Democratic incumbents Mark Pocan (2nd District) and Gwen Moore (4th District).
Pocan represents a district including Madison and Moore represents Milwaukee.
Van Orden went back and forth during the race but ultimately did not schedule a debate.
Van Orden recently testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the effects of illegal immigration on Wisconsin on a statewide scale.
Van Orden fought back after Cooke incorrectly accused him of skipping a health care policy forum during the campaign.
The group organizing the forum, the Western Wisconsin Medical Society, called Cooke’s comments inaccurate and disappointing.
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters approved a state constitution change requiring someone to be a citizen to vote in elections.
The ballot measure had 75% approval with more than 95% of the statewide voted tallied.
Currently, the Wisconsin constitution states that "Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district" is a qualified voter; the ballot proposal would replace the phrase “every United States citizen” with “only a United States citizen.”
The ballot measure comes as leaders across the state called for a process for the state to check its voter rolls for noncitizens and remove them, ensuring election integrity in the state.
Currently, election commissions cannot check their rolls with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to ensure an estimated 90,000 individuals who are currently legally in the state, who can get a drivers license, do not register to vote.
Several voting groups across the state spoke out against the ballot measure, including the League of Women Voters.
"The change from 'every' to 'only' is a downgrade to all of our voting rights," the group said. "The language changes our constitutionally protected voting rights from a guarantee for all citizens to a limitation that could be used to erode our voting rights."
Former President Donald Trump sued CBS News in federal court in Texas alleging it violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Trump sued CBS Broadcasting Inc. in U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division alleging the network’s “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to (a) confuse, deceive, and mislead the public, and (b) attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party” in the 2024 presidential election, the 19-page brief states.
The lawsuit alleges CBS News violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) when it aired two different versions of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
On Oct. 5 and 6, CBS News “aired two different versions of its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala” citing examples of the differences between the versions. In both clips, Harris is asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the clips include different statements by Harris.
“Millions of Americans, including residents of Texas and this District, were confused and misled by the two doctored Interview versions,” the lawsuit alleges. “President Trump commented on the matter, writing on Truth Social: ‘In normal times, what happened on 60 Minutes, (deceptively ‘doctoring’ her answers), would be THE END OF ANYONE’S CAMPAIGN! Kamala is slow, incoherent, and in no way qualified to be President of the United States. RELEASE THE TAPES FOR THE GOOD OF AMERICA. We can do it the nice way, or the hard way!”
He also called for CBS News’ broadcasting license to be rescinded.
In response to widespread criticism of the interview by multiple outlets that alleged CBS edited the interview, CBS News issued a statement, saying the accusations were false.
“60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment,” it said.
The brief states that CBS’s statement concedes that “Trump was accurate in his assertion that the interview with Kamala was doctored to confuse, deceive, and mislead the American People in order to try and interfere in the election on behalf of Kamala.”
After the interview aired, Trump’s counsel sent a letter to CBS demanding that it “immediately provide and publicly release the full, unedited transcript of the interview,” which it declined to do.
The Center for American Rights also filed a formal broadcast distortion complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. The different versions of the interview that aired “amount to deliberate news distortion – a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters' public interest obligations,” CAR said. It also demanded that “CBS release the unedited transcript of the interview to set the record straight.”
Trump’s attorneys filed the lawsuit in Texas, the brief states, because the interview was aired in Texas and because CBS “engaged in substantial and not isolated business activities in Texas.” They also cite other examples, including a 2004 CBS News 60 Minutes interview in which forged documents were allegedly presented “in an attempt to impugn President George W. Bush’s integrity regarding his service in the Texas Air National Guard.” It also cited other examples of “dishonest reporting.”
The lawsuit claims the damages to Trump are between $75,000 and up to at least $10 billion, saying “CBS’ distortion of the 60 Minutes interview damaged President Trump’s fundraising and support values by several billions of dollars, particularly in Texas.”
A CBS spokesperson issued a statement saying Trump’s claims were false.
“The Interview was not doctored; and 60 MINUTES did not hide any part of the Vice President’s answer to the question at issue. 60 MINUTES fairly presented the Interview to inform the viewing audience, and not to mislead it. The lawsuit Trump has brought today against CBS is completely without merit and we will vigorously defend against it,” the spokesperson said.
Social media’s influence is causing Gen Z’s interest in skilled trades to rise, according to a report by Thumbtack – something a trade organization co-director said is “inspiring and eye-opening.”
“55% of Gen Zers are considering a skilled trade career (up 12% from last year) – including 72% of those with a college degree,” Thumbtack’s report stated.
Thumbtack is a company that helps people “care for and improve their homes” by finding a skilled tradesman nearby.
“84% of both Gen Zers and their parents express high respect for the skilled trades,” according to Thumbtack’s report.
The report shows that social media is a driving force behind Gen Z’s interest in trades, with “67% of Gen Zers – including 78% of those with a college degree – [saying] social media has increased their interest in these professions.”
“Skilled trades professionals are driving this trend, with 60% of pros saying that their careers are becoming increasingly ‘Instagrammable,’” the report stated, which feeds Gen Z’s desire to “[keep] it real” and “see both the good and bad parts of ‘a hard day’s work.’”
Ahead of social media, however, parents are the top influence as it concerns Gen Z’s career choice, according to the report.
Reasons Gen Z is attracted to the skilled trades are “the ability to earn money and work right away, to pursue a career they enjoy, and to learn new skills.”
These are “all attributes [skilled] pros rate as better than other industries,” the report stated. “Compared with an office job, the trades offer an opportunity to run your own company, control your own schedule, and pursue a career you enjoy.”
Unfortunately, “only 41% of [Gen Z] reported having any access to trade programs in school, effectively cutting off a pathway to well-paying skilled trades jobs for students every year.”
“When such programs are provided, however, Gen Z embraces them: 83% of Gen Zers who’ve taken shop class said it was their favorite subject,” according to the report.
Gen Z is “most interested in trade careers as engineers, electricians, carpenters, welders, general contractors, and plumbers,” which is “good news for both Gen Z and our communities,” the report stated.
“Gen Z college graduates are seven times more likely to regret attending college than pros who attended trade school,” according to the report. “And 83% of pros would still choose a skilled trades career if they could turn back the clock and decide again.
“80 percent of parents agree learning a skilled trade can be a better pathway to economic security than going to college,” Thumbtack said in another release. “Yet 77 percent of parents still say they’ve encouraged their children to attend a four-year college.”
Mark Hedstrom, co-executive director of Skilled Careers Coalition, told The Center Square that “there was a time when a college degree provided automatic entry into a lifelong, fulfilling career.”
“Today many young people graduating from college find themselves saddled with loan debt and unable to find a job in their field of choice,” Hedstrom said. “Skilled careers provide young people with an alternate path to success.”
Skilled Careers Coalition “looks to inspire the next generation of talent to pursue a skilled career and streamline the talent ecosystem to close the skills gap,” according to its website.
“Demand for talented professionals across a vast array of skilled trades and industries is higher than it’s ever been,” Hedstrom said.
“For young people to see others like them on social media working with their hands, earning a great living, and literally getting the job done, is both inspiring and eye-opening,” Hedstrom said. “Colleges and universities and the military are great career options for some, but for millions of high schoolers and those in the Gen Z set, these options either lack appeal, or just don’t work.”
Hedstrom also told The Center Square that although in its own study it found that guidance counselors, parents, and friends are the top career influencers for students, Skilled Careers Coalition is jumping onto the social media bandwagon with its Skills Jam entertainment brand.
“With the goal to inspire the next generation of master builders, welders, plumbers, creators and fixers, Skills Jam is a story- and information-sharing social media platform about the skilled trades for youth by youth,” Hedstrom said.
Thumbtack surveyed 1,000 Gen Zers, 1,000 Gen Z parents, and 1,233 Thumbtack Pros – those in a skilled trade –in July and August of 2024 for its study.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 2.5 million illegal border crossers were reported from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The total excludes gotaways, those who illegally entered the U.S. and evaded capture. It also excludes the number of inadmissibles from these countries who were released into the U.S. through a so-called family reunification program (FRP) program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas created at least 13 parole programs identified as illegal by U.S. House Republicans who impeached him for them and other policies they argue created the border crisis. Among them was the CHNV parole program created for inadmissible citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Combined with illegal border crossers, they total more than 3 million under the Biden-Harris administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
In July 2023, Mayorkas implemented the FRP program for inadmissible citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, The Center Square reported. Citizens of CHNV and FRP countries have been, and continue to be, linked to violent crimes committed against Americans and against others in the country illegally, The Center Square reported.
The FRP facilitated “access to lawful pathways” for citizens of these four countries, including the federal government opening regional processing centers for the first time in U.S. history outside of the United States. The first centers were opened in Colombia and Guatemala for their citizens to make appointments to meet with U.S. immigration specialists to help process them for entry before they arrived to the U.S.
“The new processes are for nationals from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have received approval to join their family in the United States,” DHS said. “Specifically, nationals of these countries can be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to three years while they wait to apply to become a lawful permanent resident.”
Unlike CHNV data, DHS hasn’t publicized how many FRP recipients were released into the U.S. or how many were processed in Colombia and Guatemala before they arrived.
“These new processes promote family unity and provide lawful pathways consistent with our laws and our values,” Mayorkas said when announcing the FRP. “The Department has proven that the expansion of safe, orderly, and lawful pathways, combined with strong enforcement, is effective in reducing dangerous, irregular migration to the United States.”
Despite this, the greatest number of illegal border crossers were reported from these four FRP countries, according to CBP data from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024.
CBP’s fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The data excludes the first three months of fiscal 2021, which occurred in 2020 under the Trump administration. Data from Trump-era months are miniscule compared to Biden-Harris-era months.
Colombia
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 442,299 Colombian illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in fiscal 2023 of 167,388.
By comparison, 371 Colombian illegal border crossers were reported in December 2020 under the Trump administration and 19,287 in December 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
El Salvador
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 306,455 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in fiscal 2022 of 97,797.
By comparison, 3,107 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported in October 2020 under the Trump administration and 9,848 in October 2021 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
Guatemala
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 913,783 Guatemalan illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in nine months of fiscal 2021 of 251,902.
By comparison, 12,559 Guatemalan illegal border crossers were reported in December 2020 under the Trump administration and 35,544 in December 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
Honduras
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 870,146 Honduran illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in nine months of fiscal 2021 of 294,770.
By comparison, 7,535 Honduran illegal border crossers were reported in October 2020 under the Trump administration and 22,300 in October 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
Combined, they total 2,532,683, excluding gotaways and those released through the FRP and other programs.
These numbers alone total more than the individual populations of 15 U.S. states.
