Man Accused Of Making Terrorist Threats Against Top Wisconsin Official
Fond du Lac resident faces three felony counts after alleged death threats to an unnamed executive and family.
Wisconsin state Capitol building. Bill Martens/WPR
A Fond du Lac man has been charged with several felonies for allegedly threatening to kill an unnamed, high-ranking executive in Wisconsin government and the politician’s family.
According to the criminal complaint, Bradley Hartmann is alleged to have made threatening calls to the politician — identified in the criminal complaint only as “Victim 1” — during the early morning hours of June 28. Hartmann also allegedly made calls to law enforcement, telling them he planned to kill the politician.
Voicemails provided to investigators show the caller made repeated homophobic slurs and racial slurs while complaining about the politician treating members identifying as LGBTQ+ differently than people who are straight, according to the complaint.
“You are the (expletive) worst (redacted) in the (expletive) state ever. I will (expletive) kill you if I find you,” the caller said.
“I will find you. I will (expletive) kill you and your (expletive) family,” the caller said in another recording. “You might be dead come Monday morning you (expletive and racial slur) lover.”
Two calls were made to Dane County dispatch making threats against the politician: “You better protect (Victim 1) right now cause I left a very good message on his voicemail. I’m going to find him and I’m going to (expletive) kill him.”
Although the politician is not named in the complaint, court records show Hartmann is barred from having contact with Gov. Tony Evers or the state Capitol as part of his bond conditions.
According to the complaint, Hartmann had in 2020 threatened to kill an employee of the Department of Workforce Development during a call about his unemployment benefits. He was given a verbal warning after that threat.
Hartmann has been charged with three counts of making terrorist threats, which is a Class I felony with each carrying a maximum penalty of three years and six months in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. He also faces four misdemeanor counts of using a phone to threaten harm.
Bradley Hartmann of Fond du Lac has been charged with several felony counts of making terrorist threats after allegedly repeatedly threatening to kill a high-ranking Wisconsin politician and that politician’s family. Photo provided by Fond du Lac District Attorney
The complaint states that when police confronted Hartmann at his apartment in Fond du Lac, he told them he’d been drinking the night before and he didn’t remember making the threats. Hartmann was released on Thursday after posting a $15,000 cash bond.
The charges were announced by Republican Fond du Lac District Attorney Eric Toney, who is running for Wisconsin Attorney General. In a statement, Toney said the nation has “witnessed horrific acts of political violence in recent years, and we know political violence is not a Democratic issue, it’s a societal issue, which will never be tolerated in America.”
“We will protect our public and elected officials, regardless of what political party they may belong to and we will hold those accountable that seek to disrupt or impair government operations,” Toney said.
Fond du Lac man charged for threatening to kill high-ranking Wisconsin politician was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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