The process process claims that Minocqua Brewing owner uses Super Pac for Personal Win »Urban Milwaukee

A new civil process against Minocqua Brewing owner Kirk Bangstad He claims that he cheated on donors using tight funds for super -Liberal Pac to pay almost half a million dollars.

The trial was filed on Wednesday late. In a copy of the complaint obtained by WPR, The Lakeland Times Publisher Gregg Walker and general manager Heather Holmes I also claim that Bangstad has violated their privacy using their images in the commercial products of the beer business.

In December, Bangstad began to market Snowflake Holiday Ale, a beer with Walker’s face.

The process comes after years of feud between Bangstad and Walker. In 2023 Bangstad was found liable for defamation For a series of social media posts containing false claims he made about Walker. A jury granted Walker 750,000 in damage; Later, Bangstad paid $ 50,000 personal, and his insurance companies paid $ 530,000 in a negotiated settlement.

The new process sheds an additional light on this case and contains new accusations of fraud and improper use of Super PAC funds. He noticed that Bangstad confessed in 2024 that “neither he nor Minocqua Brewing had the ability to pay civil judgments against them.”

In addition, the records of the Federal Election Commission do not show any payment made by the company Minocqua Brewing to Super PAC, despite public promises to donate “a percentage of our profits” PAC.

The process claims that Bangstad uses donations to the CAP to subsidize the business rather than the other way around.

In part, the process is based on the data available to the public on expenses by the company Minocqua Brewing Super PAC, submitted to the FEC.

WPR reported first about apparent irregularities in disclosures In a story published on Thursday. WPR had no knowledge of the trial or his accusations before the publication of that story.

The process argues that two entities that have received payments from Super -PAC of over $ 300,000 in the last two years are fronts for Bangstad’s personal expenses.

Emphervescent Blue and NCPs received payments of $ 333,890 in 2023 and 2024. Entities are not companies registered in Wisconsin and have no store and no online fingerprint. According to federal data, Minocqua Brewing Company Super Pac is the only political group that pays either during two years.

“Bangstad pays” consulting fees “with MBC Super PAC funds,” says the process. “However, in an attempt to hide how much it is paid for the alleged” consultancy “, Bangstad pays to effervescent blue and NCPS.”

Bangstad did not respond to a comment request. In an interview this month, he called questions about effervescent blue and NCPS “outside the limits” and WPR accused of being part of a republican effort “to hurt my super -paac and to hurt my activism. “

The process also analyzes the FEC disclosure forms dating back to 2021. It finds that Bangstad has increased Paque payments to the two entities from a total of $ 56,335.74 in 2021 to a total of $ 202,826 in 2024. Total payments to the two entities, because of total entities, because of the total twice 2021, according to the process, are $ 460,549.74

The process also supports other mistakes of donor funds, including to pay for personal legal expenses and bankruptcy. A 2024 payment revealed FEC showed a payment of $ 10,000 to a bankruptcy lawyer in Madison, who “never established a lawyer-client relationship with MBC Super PAC.”

Bangstad refused to answer the Super PAC questions in the previous process

Bangstad has long asked for the boicotes in Lakeland Times due to his conservative editorial positions. The process also sheds a new light on how Bangstad climbed his online attacks on Walker, while the previous civilian process, submitted in September 2022, was making his way through courts in the next two years.

In a submission for this case, Bangstad said that his posts about Walker are good for business.

“When I post about Gregg Walker on Facebook and then attack me in his newspaper, I win more followers and Facebook customers,” said Bangstad, according to judicial documents. He said that “he believes legitimately” that Walker’s favored policies are bad, but also that “when Gregg Walker and I fight, I sell more beer and goods.”

But in a “additional exam” of 2024, Bangstad refused to answer questions about Super Pac. According to the trial, on August 9, 2024, Walker’s lawyer informed Bangstad’s lawyer “that Walker will seek sanctions and contempt against Bangstad because of his non -observance of answering questions.” Just a few days later, on August 17, Bangstad posted a Photoshopped image that showed Walker and Holmes in the Sadomasochist pictures.

This picture, which Bangstad continued to post online, was the basis for Bangstad’s arrest under charges of criminal defamation. The process claims that Bangstad’s use of Holmes and Walker’s faces was an invasion of private life and a form of use of their similarities for commercial purposes, based on his testimony that Feuda is good for business.

The next court hearing in Bangstad in the criminal case is at the beginning of April.

Bangstad loses zoning call in Oneida County, can’t open business this summer

On Thursday morning, the Oneida County Zoning Committee refused to reversing the decision to revoke the conditional permit for the Minocqua Wall Hall in Bangstad. This means that the business will not be allowed to open legally this summer.

The zoning dispute dates from 2021, when local officials have forced Bangstad to install curbs, create a rainwater plan and make other zoning changes to Minocqua property. He refused and fought the officials of the city and county in the years.

Bangstad, who was disturbing during the meeting, was finally eliminated by a captain of the Sheriff in Oneida County, WJFW-TV reported. He repeatedly claimed that he is targeted by the city of Minocqua and Oneida County for his political activism, the official officials. He has previously sued the local officials from the federal court requesting violations of the first amendment. A judge rejected this case in June.

Listen to the WPR report

Minocqua Brewing’s owner’s owner uses super Pac donations for personal expenses was initially published by Wisconsin Public Radio.