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MADISON, WI (WSAU) – A new lawsuit filed by two prominent Wisconsin media organizations accuses the Evers administration of breaking open records laws.
According to a post on X by Wisconsin Right Now, the outlet, along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, filed the complaint on Tuesday after Gov. Tony Evers’ administration reportedly suppressed claims made by Democrat state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez of Milwaukee against fellow Democrats in police reports.
In the statement, Wisconsin Right Now says the lawsuit is needed “because we strongly believe in the public’s right to know. Ortiz-Velez is a Democrat who, once in a blue moon, sides with Republicans when she thinks it’s in the best interest of her hugely Democratic district (for example, by voting yes on the surplus deal).”
“For that, she has been aggressively targeted by the Democrat establishment in a heated primary. The Evers administration released the allegations against her – which fizzled into a fine in a case that I think was unconstitutional – but they blacked out the allegations that she was making against her accusers, even though the criminal complaint outlandishly charged her with a crime for allegedly threatening to tell the news media about these vague allegations. The public has a right to know what they are,” the statement continued.
Tom Kamenick, a Wisconsin attorney and the Founder and President of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, is representing the outlets, and in a statement, said, “The DOA broke the law when it refused to release the investigation reports. There is no blanket exemption for either ongoing criminal investigations or criminal prosecutions. Government agencies must release records unless they can prove that releasing records unless they can prove that releasing them would actually interfere with the investigation or prosecution.” and “The public – and especially her constituents – deserve to judge for themselves whether what Ortiz-Velez said is worthy of criminal punishment or other consequences.”
Ortiz-Velez, who left the Assembly Democrat caucus last fall and claimed that she was banned from the Capitol in the process, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct on February 25, after a disagreement with other lawmakers over resolutions commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month and Latino soldiers. Prosecutors alleged she threatened to publish damaging personal information about fellow Democrat Priscilla Prado if Prado did not withdraw the resolution, claiming she was deliberately excluded from the drafting process.
On March 13, she pleaded no contest to the charge, despite court records indicating a guilty plea, which resulted in a $300 fine and an order to provide DNA samples.
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