MADISON, Wis. (AP/TMJ4) — A man illegally brought a loaded handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, police said Thursday.
According to a release sent to lawmakers Thursday morning, the man has been identified as 43-year-old Joshua J. Pleasnick, who goes by "Taco."
The man, Pleasnick, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governor's office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The 43-year-old man said “he would not leave until he saw Governor Evers” so he could talk about “domestic abuse towards men,” Capitol police said in a bulletin sent to lawmakers and their staffs.
Evers was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.
A Wisconsin Department of Administration spokesperson issued the following statement to TMJ4 News regarding the incident. Officials say Pleasnick entered the building with a leashed dog and without a shirt:
- Shortly before 2pm on Wed, October 4, 2023, a shirtless male with a leashed dog and a handgun in a holster approached the security desk outside the Governor’s Office inside the Wisconsin State Capitol Building. The man said he would not leave until he saw the Governor.
- Given that it is illegal to openly carry a firearm inside the Capitol building, Capitol Police officers took the man into custody without incident.
- The subject was taken to Dane County Jail for the open carry of a firearm in a public building violation, and the firearm was seized as evidence. The dog was turned over to the City of Madison Animal Control. The man subsequently bailed himself out.
- At approximately 9pm the same day, the man returned to the exterior of the Capitol with a loaded AK-47 style rifle, and again asked to see the Governor. Capitol Police and City of Madison Police Department officers began a dialogue with the person.
- A consent search of his backpack was conducted and revealed a collapsible police-style baton, which is illegal as the man did not have a valid concealed carry permit.
- Based on concerning statements made by the man, officers took him into custody shortly before midnight for a psychiatric evaluation. The rifle was seized by Capitol Police for safe keeping and the baton was seized as evidence for the CCW charge.
“I’m okay,” Gov. Evers said during an event Thursday, according to WMTV-TV in Madison. “To their credit the Capitol police took control of the situation and it’s over but that’s always something that is… things you don’t want to see happen but that’s why we have good people in the police department and Capitol police and State Patrol. They’re doing their great work.”
The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governor's office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said Thursday. The man was demanding to see the governor, who was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.
A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governor's office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.
Pleasnick was taken into custody 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, Warrick said.
Pleasnick was booked into the Dane County Jail but later posted bail.
He returned to the outside of the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m., three hours after the building closed, with a loaded assault-style rifle and a collapsible police baton in his backpack, Warrick said. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody.
Pleasnick said “he did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them,” police said in the bulletin sent to Capitol workers.
Capitol police named the suspect, but court records show that no charges have been filed as of midday Thursday.
Madison police reported Thursday that Pleasnick was taken into protective custody and taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.
“Capitol Police took control of the situation and so it’s over,” Evers told reporters Thursday.
He declined to comment on what security changes may be enacted for him or the Capitol building.
“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.”
The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.
Evers, a Democrat, was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022. Others on that list included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.
Warrick said no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned. The public has free access to the Capitol daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no metal detectors.
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