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FACT BRIEF

Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly appear at an event headlined by a pastor who has said killing abortion providers is 'justifiable homicide'?

By Erin Gretzinger
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YES

On March 21, Dan Kelly appeared virtually at an event for the Wisconsin chapter of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. The event was headlined by Matthew Trewhella, a Brookfield pastor, who has previously endorsed killing abortion providers as "justifiable homicide." 

In the early 1990s, Trewhella and over 30 other anti-abortionist extremists signed a "justifiable homicide" declaration that supported killing doctors who performed abortions. The declaration is associated with the murder of Dr. David Gunn, who was shot to death in 1993 by an assailant claiming it was "justifiable homicide."

In a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kelly's spokesperson said he "did not hear the comments by another guest speaker, nor does he condone calls for violence of any kind." A video of the event shows Kelly joined the event during the last 20 minutes following Trewhella's presentation.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Dan Kelly appears at event headlined by pastor who advocated for killing abortion providers, compared COVID-19 policies to Holocaust
New York Times FBI Undertakes Conspiracy Inquiry In Clinic Violence
Southern Poverty Law Center The Signers: 'Defensive action statement'
Facebook Sons and Daughters of Liberty - Wisconsin, March 21
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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.