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FACT BRIEF

Did Mandela Barnes vote against a law that expanded penalties for 'battery and threats' against public officials?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

When Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes — now the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin — was a state legislator, he voted against a 2015 Republican-proposed bill that made it a felony to "intentionally cause bodily harm or threaten to cause bodily harm" to a judge, prosecutor, public defender or law enforcement officer acting in their official duties. The previous law designated only threats against judges and battery against judges and law enforcement officials as felonies.

Under both the old and the new laws, such crimes are Class H felonies, carrying a maximum penalty of six years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

The Legislature approved the measure, with a bipartisan group of 80 lawmakers voting in favor of it — including all but one Republican. Barnes as one of 15 lawmakers who voted against it.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin State Legislature 2015 Assembly Bill 347
Wisconsin State Legislature 2015 Assembly Vote 154
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.