AR-15s Good 'Wound Ballistics' Make this Semi-automatic Fully Wonderful for Many

AR-15-style rifles were used by Bulletproof
Securities, Inc., to patrol Wisconsin's north
woods to seek anti-mining activists in 2013.
Photo by Rob Ganson.

AR-15 semi-auto rifle is civilian version of U.S. military’s M-16

Good "wound ballistics from AR-15," notes The Atlantic last year

Madison, Wisconsin—In 2013, an armed right wing militia, Bulletproof Securities, Inc. patrolled the Wisconsin north woods with AR-15-style, semi-automatic rifles frightening northern communities concerned about massacre control and devastation to the environment by a now-defunct massive, open-pit mining project.

The open display of this corporate intent to massacre was the subject of wide criticism, but not from Wisconsin Republicans.

The AR-15 is everything you need for home defense or killing terrorists and black men (what's the difference?), or a mining protestor. And, of course, young adults, students.

Now, the newest massacre from Florida using the AR-15-style rifle finds some Americans wondering if massacre is good public policy.

I have no faith in Republicans in Congress or the lunatic in the White House coming to the conclusion that massacre control is needed. Too many lunatics for whom Republicans work.

From USA Today:

Everything armed guards need for pesky Wisconsin protestors.
Pictured above is AR-15-style rifle by an employee of Bulletproof
operating without a license in northern Wisconsin in 2013.
Photo by Rob Ganson.

Dean Hazen, owner of The Gun Experts in Mahomet, Ill., and a master firearms instructor, said the reason mass shooters are turning to the AR-15 is due to a 'copy-cat' mentality more than any feature of the rifle.

'It’s really just a perception thing,' Hazen said. 'There are rifles that are more powerful and more dangerous than that, but they're not being used.'

Hazen said the AR-15 has "gotten a bad rap."

Actually, the rap on AR-15s is well-deserved, and the fact that more dangerous weapons exist does not disconfirm the recent history of American massacres from AR-15s.

From the Miami Herald, quoting a 14-year-old: "... Until we heard screaming and people, not falling, but crashing when they were barricading the door. We knew it wasn’t a joke anymore."

We could have 18 massacres a month, and Republicans would still not do anything for fear of alienating the NRA.

You want massacre control?

Vote out every Republican across America as a first step.

Below, in a video from 2017, the Atlantic's James Fallows discusses another mass shooting—who can remember which one out of the many that have occurred.

DA in Iron County Drops Crazy Charge Against Clean Water Activist

Katie Krow Kloth was targeted by the now defunct Mining
Co., GTAC, and Corrupt Wisconsin DA, Martin Lipske

The capricious charge of preference for a corrupt Wisconsin District Attorney—Felony Bailjumping—was dropped last week against clean water and environmentalist, Katie Krow Kloth in Iron County court in northern Wisconsin.

Before being rebuffed in January by Judge Fox of Price County for an array of contrived charges against Kloth, Lipske instituted the new felony charge of Bail Jumping, a Class H Felony hours before Fox refused a prison term and instead sentenced Kloth to nine months in Iron County jail for actions at a protest against the proposed GTAC mine two years earlier. (Mal Contends)

Reached by phone, Lipske said there is a forbidden area in the forest of Iron County on which Ms. Kloth set foot in January, and this constituted felony bailjumping.

The Bail Jumping charge was without merit, and had Ms. Kloth been convicted of this malicious prosecution, she faced years in prison. The felony charge was dropped.

Instead last week, Lipske on May 27 stipulated at a hearing to a civil infraction, trespassing, under which Kloth will have to pay the Court: $263.50.

Why would Lipske launch this crazy felony charge in the first place?

Lipske is a corrupt, out-of-control District Attorney who should have his license to practice law revoked, again. (Mal Contends) (Mal Contends)

GTAC Mining Protestor Gets New Civil Rights Attorney

Katie Krow Kloth targeted by Mining
Co. and Corrupt Wisconsin DA

A woman protesting the siting of a proposed massive open pit mine in Iron County Wisconsin (since effectively withdrawn) is serving a nine-month jail sentence after Iron County's notorious District Attorney Martin Lipske insisted on filing numerous criminal charges associated with a protest in 2013.

Today, conservationist Katie Krow Kloth was granted a change of attorney, and now local Iron County attorney Anthony Stella will be representing Kloth against another criminal charge, felony bailjumping.

Attorney Anthony 'Tony' Stella is well-known throughout Wisconsin and is regarded highly in civil rights circles and the Wisconsin legal community.

The felony bailjumping charge was tacked on against Ms. Kloth by Lipske, in keeping with Lipske's penchant for employing this charge as a means of maliciously inflicting stress onto disfavored criminal and civil defendants.

This state of affairs in which a sitting district attorney runs his office in a capricious and often volatile manner is virtually unknown outside of isolated Iron County in far-northern Wisconsin.

Local residents describe Lipske, whose law license was suspended for discipline involving "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misconduct" in 1990, as "terrorizing" the county with a sparse population of some 6,000 residents.

Lipske has been practicing in good standing since January 19, 1994, according to the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Lipske was criticized by local residents of Ashland and Iron County, (speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation by Lipske), for stipulating last year to a deferred prosecution of a local politically connected man, Dennis D. Braun, involved in a child sex trafficking crime involving a 14-year-old girl who ran screaming out of hotel after being transported some 600 miles from Milwaukee to a hotel in the town of Mercer in Iron County. (Mal Contends)

Lipske minimized the incident saying, "the man only engaged in kissing the 14-year-old and providing wine." (KBJR News, Oct. 2, 2013), before agreeing to not prosecute Braun.

Braun was granted a liquor license in 2003 by the City of Hurley for an exotic establishment on Silver Street.

Mining Protester Motion to Dismiss Denied, Faces Trumped-up Charge by Iron County's Corrupt DA

Katie Krow Kloth targeted by Mining Co. and
Corrupt Wisconsin DA, Martin Lipske

Gogebic Taconite mining company (GTAC) opponent, Katie Krow Kloth, appeared at an initial hearing today on Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske's charge of felony bailjumping.

Kloth's motion to dismiss was denied.

An evidentiary hearing [Preliminary hearing] is scheduled for Feb. 17, 2015 at 2:p.m.] to determine whether probable cause exists for the criminal process on this charge to continue.

The case is State of Wisconsin vs. Katie M Kloth (Iron County Case Number 2015CF000001).

Kloth appeared in orange jail attire and hand cuffs, an observer said.

The case is manufactured by GTAC and Idea Drilling company working with Iron County officials to throw Kloth behind bars for as many years as it can get a judge to agree.

Not content to front for Gogebic Taconite mining company (GTAC), Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske is pursuing felony bail jumping charges against Kloth, a mining protester whom Lipske threw the book at for a rowdy political demonstration.

Felony bail jumping charges are the go-to charge for Lipske who is volatile and has a shady history as district attorney; and before that position was suspended for discipline in 1990 for deceit.

After Lipske filed four criminal charges against Kloth for a June 2013 demonstration, Kloth appeared before Price County Judge Douglas T. Fox on January 21, 2015 and received a nine-month jail sentence with seven years probation.

Lipske had asked for a $80,000-plus restitution from Kloth for claimed damages against GTAC, a ludicrous request that was denied was Judge Fox.

Lipske wants the seven-year probation revoked.

Lipske refused to prosecute GTAC's "security" company, Bulletproof Security though Bulletproof acted in contravention of Wisconsin law, after Bulletproof Security's president, Tom Parrella, consulted with Scott Walker's administration in 2013.

Lipske had asked for a $80,000-plus restitution from Kloth for claimed damages against GTAC, a ludicrous request that was denied was Judge Fox.

Lipske wants the seven-year probation revoked.

In 1990, Lipske's license in practice was suspended for two years for professional misconduct.

Wisconsin Mining Protester Releases Statement

Katie Krow Kloth targeted by Mining
Co. and Corrupt Wisconsin DA

By Katie Krow Kloth of Citizens Concerned about the Proposed Penokee Mine

My sentence to nine months in jail in conjunction with a withheld felony sentence equating to 15 years in prison if I “step out of line” in the eyes of the “state”, was harsh and a classist attack on my beliefs and lifestyle. Judge Fox strives to kill my spirit by burying me in a dying urban hole and desires that I refrain from involvement in the anti-resource extraction struggle; I refuse to be “killed,” and I refuse the idea of coerced complacency.

The “lifestyle enforcement” aspect of my five year probation mandate (post-jail time) with full-time employment stipulation, is culturist, and out-of-touch with today’s employment landscape. Innumerable individuals work seasonal jobs for life in a responsible manner, thus Judge Fox’s ruling is based on the disappearing myth of the white American Dream that supports and enforces a destructive capitalist regime. In conjunction, Judge Fox exploited my sentencing hearing to serve as a symbolic trial for my identity as an anarchist, my appearance, and my ongoing affiliation with indigenous communities, extending to my adamant stance against industrial resource extraction- this is unacceptable, yet predictable. The judge seemingly desires to stifle dissent from all things wild and free, and may as well have based his sentence off a hypothetical book in progress entitled, “White Pride and Prejudice,” as the words fell from his mouth in a narrow, out-dated, and white-male privileged world perspective, and does not support or embrace hunting, fishing, or gathering.

Though I am not indigenous and have never claimed to be, I am grateful and touched to have been welcomed into some of those communities, and maintain that G-TAC and their pro-mine affiliates are waging extreme racist resource colonialism on the land and connected peoples and creatures with the proposed Penokee Mine, potentially the largest iron-mine world-wide, as it would negatively affect front-line indigenous communities of the northwoods bioregion, in conjunction with their traditional ways.

Though I wish no harm on Stacey Saari, a geologist hired on G-TAC’s dollar, it saddens me that she continues to despise the fiber of my being, and continues to support industrial resource extraction that in turn supports death to the poorest of peoples in rural/wilderness landscapes. The cliché’ of “just doing your job” is no excuse to participate in colonial violence via corporate resource extraction.

Exploitation of the land by rich corporate entities continues to persist whilst perpetuating persecution of dissent to such negative acts across the globe, so resistance to these destructive activities must continue to proliferate world-wide. Various incarnations of creative resistance must be embraced to succeed in the struggle against the ongoing violence against our only home, Earth.

Consequently, colonization is everywhere, so decolonization must happen everywhere.

We must “know our rights,” and practice good security culture if we are to support our comrades, and succeed in struggle.

It will do us all good to prioritize organizing as communities and individuals that value consensus and the destruction of exclusionary hierarchies, holding ourselves accountable to our own standards.

It is also important to remember who are allies are, as well as who the real enemies are… a Supreme Court recently ruled that it is NOT a police officer’s job to “protect and serve,” only to uphold the law… the law is written by the predominantly white, colonized, elite 1% ruling class, and that is who the “law” protects- not you, not the land, not people of the LGBTQ community, female-bodied folks, or minorities of any kind. Thus, the law protects G-TAC and their affiliates, and police remain the first line of enforcement against community resistance.

We must negate state repression by protecting ourselves and land-bases therein; we must not give our people up, and recognize that to be in solidarity with one another is more akin to the idea of “harmony” than “unity”. Harmony implies that we can all do different things within the same song, and still find conclusion together.

We must let go of the liberal idea and notion of “hope”; hope is a passive wish; I would rather assert myself and strive toward self determination, leaving fascist hands and ideals behind.

The message must be sent that public dissent will NOT be stifled, as we are living in the 11th hour, the seventh fire, the last grab for fossil-fuel resources… We will not live in the wake of corporate destruction and greed… the anti-police brutality struggles that originated in Ferguson demonstrate inspiring community organizing and resistance we can all learn from, in conjunction with the indigenous people’s struggles at the Unis’tot’en Camp 1,000 kilometers north of modern day “British Columbia”- they never ceded their lands to the Canadian government and kicked out large-scale resource extractors by building a traditional village in the way of a pipeline… five years strong and steady.

In closing, direct action is important, and we must all continue to organize creatively; stay aware of the harms and dangers that surveillance and social media can bring. The internet is both a blessing and a curse; spend less time obsessing over government conspiracies, be safe, and organize around tangible issues that are pertinent to your communities.

In addition, for those who are interested in following the law to the tee until they die, you are a hypocrite, and you are not free; slavery was once legal, electro-shock therapy was once legal, and the nature of the proposed Penokee Mine was once illegal… be on the side of loving common-sense, as tough love takes many forms, not the side of money and fascism.

Ultimately, the Penokee Mine will never be built as it is genocide upon stolen Ojibwe land, its’ indigenous peoples and creatures, and their traditional ways. We should continue to use the land as if it does not belong to RGGS [RGGS Land and Minerals Ltd. of Houston], leased to G-TAC, as it does not belong to them. Treaties aside, if we kill the land, we kill ourselves.

Wisconsin Is Passive as Out-of-Control District Attorney Runs Wild

"The right to do what the law does not prohibit, without fear of harassment or punishment, is one of the hallmarks of a free society."—Judge Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [foreword to Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice (Sidney Powell, Brown Books Publishing Group, 2014)]
 ---
Updated - A January 18 snow trek through the snow-covered forest in a northern Wisconsin county is felony bailjumping (Wisconsin Statute 946.49), according to Iron County (Wisconsin) District Attorney Martin Lipske, the precise sort of prosecutor with a history of misconduct Judge Richard Posner—judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit—had in mind when Posner wrote his crucial opinion hitting absolute immunity for prosecutors in Fields v. Wharrie and Kelley, (2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 133) (No. 13-1195).

District Attorney Lipske routinely files felony bailjumping (and other ludicrous) criminal charges, and these charges are not the result of meticulous investigations and objective gathering of facts and evidence by law enforcement.

Two days after January 18, District Attorney Lipske decided, without an investigation, that he had no choice but to file a felony bailjumping charge the day before an environmental protester was to be sentenced for Lipske's latest abuse of process, one could even say a malicious prosecution.

Lipske just wanted more control over the life of the anti-mining activist, Katie Krow Kloth, and this despicable model of a jurist had no compunction that the actions of his office inflicted pain on the 27-year-old Ms. Kloth, and on her family and friends, hence this site's recent characterization of Lipske as a psychopath.

The District Attorney's office of Iron County in Hurley is run by a little man, Martin Lipske, animated by spite, vindictiveness, and caprice, and whose criminal charges typically are not proceeded by investigations of any kind, just a vague contemplation of how Lipske can use contrived charges to achieve his ends as he revels in his world of Iron County.

The gravity of this situation is easily overlooked by Wisconsin media as Iron County is an isolated and sparsely populated county in far-northern Wisconsin, and Wisconsin has myriad issues of the moment demanding attention of the media, the political system and the citizenry.

Martin Lipske is part of the problem.

Martin Lipske's prosecutions slip through the cracks, giving Lipske carte blanche to run his office on personal whims with appalling results, and the regulatory Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Investigation is a case study in administrative law "capture theory," a state of affairs more insidious when the purpose of regulation and the rule of law is the Sovereign embodied by the District Attorney—"the power and might of the government," as noted by an out-of-state jurist.

I have spoken with victims of Lipske's over the last several years, and the shattering trauma of these victims is common in Iron County for both the legally exonerated and the morally exonerated.

DA Martin Lipske Fronting for the Proposed Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) Mine

District Attorney Martin Lipske threw the book at GTAC mining protester, Katie Krow Kloth, for actions at a June 2013 mining protest that would have brought a civil citation of disorderly conduct in most any other Wisconsin county.

But not Lipske.

Kloth was recently sentenced to serve nine months in the Iron County jail, after being charged with four criminal offenses for these actions at a rally against the proposed mine.

Advocating for GTAC and subsequently for the criminally operating Bulletproof Securities, Inc, (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Lipske defended Bulletproof at a 2013 hearing of Kloth's, a window into Lipske's mindset and corruption of the judicial process for the benefit of GTAC.

Subsequently, Lipske violated a Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule [SCR 20:3.6  Trial publicity] in his pursuit of Kloth, (Mal Contends); vis:

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule [SCR 20:3.6  Trial publicity]: "(a) A lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter."

Bailjumping Charge

"Acting Judge Sam Filippo set [a $5,000 signature] bond recommended by Lipske under conditions that Kloth have no contact with the [alledged] victim, nor threatening behavior to GTAC or Idea Drilling employees," notes Ralph Ansami (Lakeland Times).

Now, Lipske on top of the four criminal charges, claims that Ms. Kloth allegedly entering the forbidden zone in the public managed forest land in the Penokee Hills last Sunday constitutes "bailjumping."

The "forbidden zone" reference is to the Republican-passed law, 2013 Wisconsin Act 81, effective January 2014 that the GOP designed for GTAC to test-drill and load and transport bulk samples (Wisconsin Public Radio). [Here is the link to Act 81's legislative history and record of committee proceedings.]

This is a not a criminal statute.

"All the right-winger media was abuzz about supposed so-called 'No Go Zones' that Muslim people have set up in cities in Europe where non-Muslims aren't allowed to go. Turns out, the real No-Go Zones are set up by the Corporate Persons in America where non-Corporates aren't allowed to go," noted Bobby L. Clark, a Wisconsin citizen in Iron County and member of the group, Citizens Concerned about the Proposed Penokee Mine.

The proposed mining zone language is basically a trespassing statute that outlines what constitutes a trespass for "Proposed Ferrous Mining Sites, (2m)," as has been widely noted by clean water advocates.

GTAC gets a 600-foot buffer in which to test-drill and transport bulk samples from its proposed iron ore mine.

Wisconsin "Trespass to law" is still the law used to enforce any alleged trespassing.

Trespassing is a civil infraction—and it is quite a stretch for Lipske to call a civil infraction, bailjumping.

No investigation

It would be silly to contend that Lipske conducted an investigation just after the hours of the alleged infraction and found that Ms. Kloth trespassed, and then conclude a felony bailjumping charge must be leveled.

Wisconsin's trespassing law requires some kind of notice. This means if the owner approaches people and says you are trespassing on land and can go no further, you will advance at your own risk.

If you are not actually told this, signage is also required, and the state trespassing law says you need each 40-acre parcel marked, ridiculous for Lipske to mesh these requirements with the "600-foot rule" that the special forbidden zone legislation created, with absolutely no investigation conducted, as Lipske has admitted.

The Trespass to land law reads in part:

(2)(am) A person has received notice from the owner or occupant within the meaning of sub. (1m) (b), (e) or (f) if he or she has been notified personally, either orally or in writing, or if the land is posted. Land is considered to be posted under this paragraph under either of the following procedures:

943.13(2)(am)1. 1. If a sign at least 11 inches square is placed in at least 2 conspicuous places for every 40 acres to be protected. The sign must provide an appropriate notice and the name of the person giving the notice followed by the word "owner" if the person giving the notice is the holder of legal title to the land and by the word "occupant" if the person giving the notice is not the holder of legal title but is a lawful occupant of the land. Proof that appropriate signs as provided in this subdivision were erected or in existence upon the premises to be protected prior to the event complained of shall be prima facie proof that the premises to be protected were posted as provided in this subdivision.

2. If markings at least one foot long, including in a contrasting color the phrase "private land" and the name of the owner, are made in at least 2 conspicuous places for every 40 acres to be protected.

Lipske would have had to investigate and first determine which 40-acre parcel the 600-foot rule affected, ensure that each 40-acre parcel has the required signage, as required by statute, and that Ms. Kloth then intentionally violated the Proposed Ferrous Mining Sites, (2m) and conditions of her bond.

Each 40-feet forbidden zone is not marked, Iron County residents have confirmed.

This Proposed Ferrous Mining Sites law merely creates a right of the owner to close off the land to the public.

Lipske likely will be informed that the state will not be able to sustain a trespass charge against Kloth, meaning there was no violation of her bail conditions in this respect (i.e., no law violated).

As far as the specific conditions of Kloth's bail forbidding her from entering a mining site on GTAC's premises, there is neither a mining site, as defined in state law, nor a premises owned by GTAC that was ventured into by Kloth or anyone else, and moreover no one was encountered Sunday, January 18, as one would expect in the middle of the forest in the middle of January in far-northern Iron County Wisconsin.

That the conditions of Kloth's signature bond were violated is at best silly conjecture accomplished with no investigation, and to file a felony bailjumping charge is an abuse of process intended to cause Kloth harm.

Lipske had operated in this manner for years, thus demanding, at the least, that every case he has prosecuted be examined by an outside agency.

Hyperbole? I wish.

Mine Protestor Gets Light Jail Sentence, Corrupt Iron County DA Sought Long Prison Term

Katie Krow Kloth targeted by Mining
Co. and Corrupt Wisconsin DA

Updated - Nine-month Jail Term and Small Restitution for Mine Protester and Environmental Activist - DA Martin Lipske's 15-year prison sentence rejected by judge; GTAC's $80,000-plus restitution request rejected by judge [It was originally reported that the sentence is six months, but as the two counts' sentences are running consecutively and not concurrently, the jail term is nine months].

Update: A source in Iron County Wisconsin says Iron County DA Lipske, after being rebuffed today by Judge Fox, is now working on new charges against Ms. Kloth.

Lipske will not be satisfied until he has inflicted as much pain as possible on Ms. Kloth and will contrive virtually any charge in his ongoing abuse of process and malicious prosecution of Ms. Kloth.

The new charge is now Bail Jumping, a Class H Felony, though Ms. Kloth has never missed an appearance.

Reached today by phone, Lipske said there is a forbidden area in the forest of Iron County on which Ms. Kloth set foot.

The case is State of Wisconsin vs. Katie M. Kloth, Iron County Case Number 2015CF000001. Lipske said he is touch with Kloth's attorney, John C. Bachman of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Lipske claims that entering the forbidden zone in the Penokee Hills last Sunday constitutes "Bail Jumping."

 "On Sunday, at least 45 people snowshoed into the 'forbidden zone,' an off-limits mining zone in the Penokees established by Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) through the Wisconsin DNR, to peacefully protest the proposed mining in the region," reports Amber Mullen, Ashland Daily Press.

Objectively, Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske is a despicable human being who should be investigated for misconduct again, and have his license suspended again by the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation.

Lipske said he had no choice but to pursue another felony charge though the political protest case is effectively closed. 

Lipske does have a choice, it's called prosecutorial discretion, but this human garbage is on a vendetta.
 ---
Katie Krow Kloth was sentenced to serve nine months in Iron County jail before a packed courtroom in Hurley, Wisconsin, and was described by the presiding judge as committing an offense on the low end of the spectrum at a political protest in 2013.

Two sentences of six and three months are ordered to be served consecutively by Ms. Kloth who is eligible for work release and has two weeks to report to jail. "Kloth will have five years of probation with the felony charge and two years with the misdemeanor," notes the Ashland Daily Press.

The presiding judge, Price County Judge Douglas T. Fox, said a prison sentence was not "appropriate," and withheld requested prison sentences, rejecting Iron County DA Martin Lipske's appeals.

Lipske is notoriously corrupt and known for fronting for Gogebic Taconite (GTAC).

GTAC's $80,000 request for restitution was rejected in full.

A different company employee, Stacy Saari, was ordered to receive a small restitution from Kloth.

Ms. Kloth, a 27-year-old woman who had no criminal record prior, is an environmental and Native American activist who faced four criminal charges for actions at a 2013 political protest at the proposed GTAC mine site in northern Wisconsin, (see Kaufman, New York Times).

Ms. Kloth had pleaded No Contest to two charges last September.

Kloth's attorney, John C. Bachman of Eau Claire, Wisconsin said he had never seen so many letters of support in a criminal case today as at this hearing.

The Department of Corrections filed a presentencing report with the Court on November 13, 2014, ordered by Price County Judge Douglas T. Fox on September 23, 2014.

"Katie is an intelligent and skilled botanist who has much to teach about the natural world," said environmental activist Rob Ganson of Citizens Concerned about the Proposed Penokee Mine in a letter to  Judge Fox.

Ms. Kloth made a motion for a new judge in March 2014, as is her right (unique among the 50 states) to move for substitution in Wisconsin for no stated cause, though the case stays in the jurisdiction of Iron County.

Good move.

The District Attorney, Iron County's Martin Lipske, is a corrupt jurist, suspended for discipline in 1990, and like Iron County Judge Patrick Madden is not a jurist with whom you want to be dealing when you are protesting the proposed giant open pit GTAC mine in Iron County.

Lipske, incredibly (but not for Lipske), had charged Kloth on four criminal counts two of which could have resulted in a 15-year prison sentence for an incident during which the alleged victims were seen laughing on tape.

Judge Fox handed down the sentence—some 11 months after Kloth's motion for a substitution of judge—this morning after DA Lipske threw the book at Kloth in typical Lipske-abuse-of-discretion fashion.

The charges stem from a criminal complaint of June 21, 2013.

Kloth had reached a plea deal in September, facing DA Martin Lipske throwing the book at her.

Krow was described as "looking well" yesterday by a long-time resident of Ashland County who spoke with Krow at the produce aisle at Chequamegon Food Coop on Tuesday, January 20th in the city of Ashland.

The same source said, Krow told him, "she has a good feeling about tomorrow's trial and claims to be ready for whatever happens."

Today at the sentencing hearing, Krow was described as "emotional but composed, and remorseful," by an attendee of the hearing.

Kloth is also the victim of a PR campaign against her by Wisconsin GOP-front journals, the Wisconsin Reporter and Media Trackers, among GOP groups.

"[T]he Gogebic Taconite company contributed $700,000 to the Wisconsin Club for Growth during the recall races in 2011 and 2012. According to the John Doe prosecutors, that contribution was coordinated by agents of Gov. Scott Walker. Around the same time, Walker and the Republicans were promoting a bill that was partially written by Gogebic Taconite. That bill eventually passed, giving the company what it wanted for its controversial mine in Iron County." (Rothschild, The Capital Times)

Said Krow in July 2014: "Those who fight against the destruction of the water, land, plants, and human and non-human animals of the Penokee Hills and Bad River Watershed are not ‘terrorists.’ The only terrorists are those who plot to blow up the hills with ammonium nitrate and use the power of the state’s policing apparatus to repress and send fear and division through the communities that oppose them. Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) and Chris Cline have millions of dollars and the support of the state to destroy the Penokees [Hills]," (Bergquist, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

A support group of Krow's notes:

On June 11th, 2013, Kroft was cited by the Iron County Sherriff for theft due to her alleged involvement in a rowdy protest earlier that day that disrupted bore-hole drilling on the Penokee Range. She was neither arrested nor detained that day.

Ten days later, Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske increased the charges to robbery with use of force (a class E felony), two counts of criminal damage to property and one charge of theft of movable property.

It is apparent that the prosecutor gave into outside political pressure and that the charges were trumped up. The state legislature and powerful mining corporations seek to make an example out of anyone who dares to step out of line

A letter to Judge Fox by Rob Ganson of Citizens Concerned about the Proposed Penokee Mine (Facebook) is reproduced below:

Judge Fox,

Katie Kloth, in my opinion, is guilty of a crime, one like Bill Williams committed in the courthouse in Ashland, when he too, snatched a cell phone against resistance of the owner.

Small crimes like these, like the one perpetrated on 80-year-old Bruce Noble (no charges) occur on the streets of Hurley on a regular basis with no charges forthcoming. Please ask yourself why this particular case was so blatantly over-charged in Iron County.

It is clear on the video that a very minor assault was committed, while the victim’s co-workers, (a burly drilling crew) stood by laughing at the ill considered and rude antics. It is also clear that GTac responded by breaking the law; sending unlicensed mercenaries with military weapons, mercenaries in camo gear and masks, to confront hikers, including my wife. THIS was another sort of assault altogether! This assault was one including the brandishing of military rifles by masked men who seemed like some sort of terrorist cell and NOBODY was charged! The disposition of this case should be the same as it would be absent the political environment responsible for the elevated charges.

Katie is an intelligent and skilled botanist who has much to teach about the natural world, (if little about manners) and not some troublemaker with a record of crime or violence of any kind. I ask that you act in the spirit of justice and impose the slap on the wrist wake up call it would end in were it not for the politics that have so greatly exaggerated it.

Rob Ganson,
Washburn, Wisconsin
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Bulletproof Securities, Inc, Photo by Rob Ganson

Read as well the refusal of DA Martin Lipske to prosecute the rightwing Bulletproof Securities, Inc. which tried to provoke natives of northern Wisconsin by unlawfully carrying semi-automatic weapons captured in a shot by Rob Ganson that was picked up nationwide.

July 17, 2013

Martin Lipske District Attorney
300 Taconite Street
Hurley, WI 54534

Re: Bulletproof Securities, Inc.

Dear Mr. Lipske:

This is a follow-up to my letter of July 11, calling your attention to several violations committed by Bulletproof Securities, Inc. while their armed personnel were unlawfully present in Wisconsin at the GTAC mine site. Apparently Bulletproof’s application for a Wisconsin license is still under consideration.

In my previous letter I did not specifically point to Wisconsin Statutes Section 134.58, which suggests that some officials and employees of both Bulletproof Securities and GTAC may have committed felonies. Section 134.58 states:

“Any person who, individually, in concert with another or as agent or officer of any firm, joint-stock company or corporation, uses, employs, aids or assists in employing any body of armed persons to act as militia, police or peace officers for the protection of persons or property or for the suppression of strikes, not being authorized by the laws of this state to so act, is guilty of a Class I felony.”

It is difficult to argue that this provision was not violated by the hiring of unlicensed personnel carrying AR-15’s, engaged to conduct surveillance and to protect the employees and property of GTAC.

Given this and the numerous previously listed violations, it is incumbent on your office and state regulatory authorities to insure that Bulletproof Securities, Inc. is not allowed to operate in Wisconsin. In the event Bulletproof officials were to be convicted of these charges, they would lose the right to operate in Arizona as well as Wisconsin. GTAC is presently utilizing Wisconsin personnel, and the tension has de-escalated. It would be counterproductive to reintroduce this firm into Wisconsin, as GTAC has promised. While Governor Walker and others have insisted that you prosecute law-breaking protesters to the fullest extent possible, I am looking for some semblance of an attempt to enforce the laws against out-of-state corporations responsible for criminal activity within our state.

Your defense of GTAC’s right to hire Bulletproof’s guards at Katie Kloth’s hearing was troublesome.

It was unrelated to her guilt or innocence, and only served to conflate the issues. No one has ever suggested GTAC has no right to hire private security -- they have every right to hire licensed personnel. Don’t confuse that with utilizing unlicensed, armed security forces in violation of Wisconsin’s criminal laws. Your vigorous stance in support of the hiring appears inappropriate for one charged with the duty to decide whether that hiring led to multiple violations of the law.

Unlike Governor Walker, I am not requesting that you use every weapon at your disposal. I am merely seeking assurances that Bulletproof Securities, Inc. will not be granted a license to operate in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is better served by the continued use of local companies that have demonstrated knowledge of and compliance with the law.

Sincerely,

Anthony J. Stella, Jr.
Copy: Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services

Motion Granted for New Judge in Gtac Protester Case

Katie Krow Kloth

Update: Per order, assigning judge/judicial assignment order, Price County Circuit Court Judge Douglas T. Fox will preside.

Katie Kloth, an environmental and Native American activist who is facing four criminal charges for alleged actions at a 2013 political protest, made a motion for a new judge today, approved by Iron County Judge Patrick J. Madden.

The proposed Gogebic Taconite (Gtac) mine site is the source of widespread political opposition in Wisconsin, that in turn has seen the Koch brothers getting involved in local Iron County races over the mine.

Kloth's motion for substitution follows repeated public assertions made by citizen environmentalists and activists that Kloth would have trouble getting a fair trial in Judge Madden's courtroom because he is biased in favor of the proposed mine, (GTac), longtime Iron County residents note.

No rationale for the motion by Kloth has been made public, and the source for this development is the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access system.

A perception of bias is often the basis for seeking motions for judicial substitutions in criminal cases, and in itself implies nothing about the presiding judge.

The Iron County Circuit Court is located in the Ninth Judicial District, Wisconsin.

A friend of the Kloth family reports that the family is not returning media calls.

The Iron County DA, Martin Lipske, has a disturbing history of corruption, including overcharging politically disfavored defendants.

- Piece is updated to reflect the fact that seeking judicial substitutions in criminal cases does not in itself imply bias on the part of the presiding judge. There is a multiplicity of reasons for a defendant to move for a judicial substitution. In this case Judge Madden is in the tank for the mining company. -

District Attorney's Ethical Breach Printed in Wisconsin State Jounral

Katie Kloth

Update: Motion Granted for New Judge in Gtac Protester Case; good call, you do not want Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske and Judge Patrick Madden in the same court room as a criminal defendant.

On Monday, Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske will attempt to overcharge and in an abuse of office typical of Lipske shut down and ultimately imprison a 20-something political protester, Katie Kloth.

The arraignment for Kloth for actions at a protest last year is Monday, March 24.

Lipske will be acting on behalf of GTac, or Gogebic Taconite for whom the corrupt Lipske works, with an eye out for its private security army, Bulletproof Inc., whom Lipske protected despite clear and repeated violations of Wisconsin statutes.

Turns out the ethically challenged district attorney has already committed a breach of the rules for ethical conduct for Wisconsin attorneys.

Lipske violated Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule [SCR 20:3.6  Trial publicity], stating:  "(a) A lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter."

The violation occurred in Lipske's statement made to Steven Verburg of the Wisconsin State Journal (July 17, 2013).

The State Journal headline reads: "Details of harassment incident at mine show a troubling threat, prosecutor says."

Here is Lipske's quote: '"The details on the [alleged criminal] incident (of Katie Kloth and a small group) help explain why the Gogebic Taconite mining company hired heavily armed security guards from Arizona who wore camouflage and masks, Lipske said," and

"What is the appropriate response for the company? They don’t want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in high-end security, but how much do they need to protect those people?"

Kochs Target Iron Co Races, as Corrupt Judge and DA Target Mining Protestor

Beautiful Penokee Range in
Iron County (Wisconsin).
"The Penokee-Gogebic Range
consists of two steep, parallel ridges
that dominate the local
landscape rising 1,200
feet above nearby Lake Superior.
The topography of the area
and the variety of soil conditions
 result in a wide range of habitat
that supports a diverse
group of species and
natural communities."
(Nature Conservancy)

Update II: Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske—inclined to shoot his mouth off in service to favored litigants such as the GTac mining company—should read Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule [SCR 20:3.6  Trial publicity]:  "(a) A lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter."

Now, I'm no attorney, but Lipske's statement made to Steven Verburg of the Wisconsin State Journal (July 17, 2013) sure seems to me like a "extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter."

State Journal headline reads: "Details of harassment incident at mine show a troubling threat, prosecutor says."

Here is Lipske's quote: '"The details on the [alleged criminal] incident (of Katie Kloth and a small group) help explain why the Gogebic Taconite mining company hired heavily armed security guards from Arizona who wore camouflage and masks, Lipske said."

On a different matter, hey Lipske, you ever ask for a favor in exchange for performing specific duties of your office?  Just checking it, friend.

Update: District Attorney Martin Lipke, working in service to GTac, reportedly wants mine protestor Katie Kloth to pay $10,000s to GTac because GTac brought in Bulletproof Security—heavily armed with assault weapons, unlicensed and operating illegally under Wisconsin law—to provide "security" against a handful of unarmed, young protesters and Native Americans growing rice and sharing traditional meals with journalists and visitors to the area, often at the Lac Courte Oreilles Harvest and Educational Camp.

There was never any question that Bulletproof operated illegally, yet Lipske refused to press criminal charges against Bulletproof, instead Lipske actually supplied free public relations for the criminal actor, Bulletproof: "The details on the [alleged criminal] incident (of Katie Kloth and a small group) help explain why the Gogebic Taconite mining company hired heavily armed security guards from Arizona who wore camouflage and masks, Lipske said." (Steven Verburg. Wisconsin State Journal)

Bulletproof also made "false statement(s) in connection with (its) application for a license or permit," a violation of  Wisconsin Statute 440.26(6)(a)(3), as Steve Horn reported in December 2013. Bulletproof's president, Tom Parrella had claimed "to have reached out to local officials in two counties and to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before he sent his employees to northern Wisconsin. But officials with those counties and the DNR deny this."

Lipske again refused to prosecute.

One would think this inequitable treatment, this selective prosecution, would perhaps supply grounds for dismissal of charges, or a substitution of judges.
---
"Iron County is a place of incredible natural beauty. With 300 pristine lakes encompassing 34,000 acres of pure water the only thing that could make it better is Lake Superior coastline. Good thing Iron County has that too. Come and enjoy an amazing waterfall or take a long walk on the beautiful sandy beaches of Saxon Harbor."

So notes the official website of Iron County in northern Wisconsin, population of some 5,200 residents, most of whom know each other personally or by reputation.

Rightwing money pouring into Iron County wants to see pristine lakes, watersheds and rivers fouled by toxins from a proposed massive, open-pit mine—brought and paid for by billionaire mining mogul, Christopher Cline, and one cog in his extraction operations: GTac or Gogebic Taconite.

The Wisconsin State Journal is reporting the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is dropping over a 1,000 political pamphlets defaming residents in Iron County as "anti-mining radical(s)" in an effort to elect pro-mining members of the Board of Supervisors in the April 1 election. (Verberg)

"A well-funded Wisconsin conservative group is blasting seven county board candidates in sparsely populated Iron County, calling them 'radical anti-mining' environmentalists," reports Verberg.

No election is too small for the Koch brothers, and they are wreaking havoc on a planetary scale.

North of Wisconsin in Canada, a subsidiary of Koch Industries is the largest lease holder in Canada’s oil sands, reports EcoWatch.

One pro-mining resident, Saxon Assistant Fire Chief Karl Krall, "said he wonders where they (AFP)are getting their information. Krall said he is a strong proponent of the mine, and he is puzzled and angry about being described as a job-killing radical on the material sent to his friends, neighbors and potential voters in the district where he is a candidate," reports Verberg. 'Everybody in the town except me got the flyer saying I’m an anti-mine radicalist. It’s a joke,' said Krall."

Katie Kloth - A woman whose spirit
is as beautiful as the Penokees. The
rightwing hates her and is out to
destroy Ms. Kloth's life because of
her opposition to the Gtac mine.

Katie Kloth

What is not so funny about Iron County, is mining protestor Katie Kloth, a 20-something, anti-mining protestor about to get the book thrown at her, already overcharged by Iron County's notoriously corrupt District Attorney Martin Lipske.

The 26-year-old Kloth raised her voice at an anti-mining protest and is accused of stealing a cell phone and smashing it.

For this, Kloth is being subjected to an abuse of office by Lipske, who has a history of outrageous conduct of this nature.

Kloth faces three misdemeanors and one felony charge

Kloth's arraignment hearing is Monday, April 24.

Judge Patrick Madden and Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske

I spoke to some Iron County folks (not Don Miller) the last few days, and as much as they detest Lipske, they believe few outside Iron County have any idea how corrupt this isolated county is, and specifically point to Judge Patrick J. Madden, presiding over Kloth's arraignment.

"I hope Katie Kloth's lawyers know whose courtroom they are walking into when they go before Madden. You think Lipske is corrupt; Madden is worse. I can prove plenty of stories of criminal conduct, but a lot of people could get hurt, but I'll still pull the trigger when the time is right," says a long-time resident, speaking to me, and asking to remain anonymous because of feared retaliation and the sensitivity of the topic. "At least the spotlight is on these __holes for a while."

Tiny and beautiful Iron County is a focus of billionaires, Christopher Cline and the Koch brothers.

The District Attorney and Circuit Court judge are corrupt, and fronting for GTac and the billionaires.

Now, 27-year-old Katie Kloth, a socially conscious woman with no criminal record, is going to get the book thrown at her as Lipske and Madden do the mining company's dirty work.

Last year, Lipske tried to charge a 76-year-old farmer, "Barrel Bob" Gollubske, a gentle farmer from Kimball in Iron County, with "bomb scares" and terrorizing the community after Gollubske called the FBI and said he is afraid of what the Gtac is planning on doing, and then complaining to the DNR.

Gollubkse had long said destructive blasting by a local asphalt company would be nothing compared to GTac's plan to blast open their proposed 26-mile-ling open-pit mine.

All criminal charges against Gollubske were dismissed in December 2013 because the charges were fabricated, ludicrous and intended to intimidate anti-mining sentiment; Gollubske's lawyer, Jeff Scott Olson of Madison, had successfully moved for a judge substitution in August last year.

Gollubkse said by phone in December, "I feel happy, I fell relieved, but my wife you know, she had a heart attack over this, a quadruple bypass, and thanks to Marshfield (Clinic). Being called a terrorist, how it felt. I still can't believe I was accused of being a terrorist."

 Lipske is a sociopath with no conscience about lying and literally destroying lives.

Madden is worse, having reportedly recruited Lipske to become Iron County District Attorney after Lipske's law license was suspended from 1990-1994 for misconduct, under the category of "Suspended for Discipline" for "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misconduct" in 1990.

Perfect qualifications for DA in Iron County.

Madden, aka "Madman" and Lipske run their horror show in isolated Iron County. Other Wisconsin jurists cannot comment on corruption of their colleagues other than filing notice with the State Bar of Wisconsin Bar, actually an obligation.

Light and media attention are now being shone on their actions, and this site will be monitoring events closely.

DA Lipske Backs off Rubber-stamping Militia; Wrongful Prosecutions Remain

Iron County DA Martin Lipske on display

Well, kudos to Iron County (Wisconsin) DA Martin Lipske for making a statement that "hopefully we don't have to have high-intensity security people like Bulletproof here, acting in a high-intensive manner like being armed," as reported by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Yeah, who could have saw Bulletproof coming? See Scott Walker's aide had advance knowledge of Bulletproof's plans for the Iron County mine.

Hopefully?

How would have Lipske treated conservationists marching around the north woods with semi-automatic weapons? Walker likely would have called in the National Guard.

How about, hopefully, dropping Lipske's ludicrous multiple-felony prosecutions against Katie Kloth for protesting against the mining company and Bulletproof's bad actions that have no place in Wisconsin?

Hopefully?

How about, hopefully, getting Donald Miller out of prison before everyone and his U.S. Attorney find out about the rat's nest of corruption, wrongful prosecutions and malice Lipske has going up there in Iron County?

Lipske knows what I mean. Lipske's words are not exactly a piece of forged steel.

Word from a source in Iron County this morning is Miller applied for a Pardon from the governor's Executive Clemency office, whose webpage currently reads, "The pardon process has been suspended indefinitely.  Applications currently on file will be saved for future use.  However, no new applications will be accepted."

After encouraging words about Executive Clemency, came nothing as Lipske went from a Jim Doyle-endorsing Democrat to an Independent running for reelection for DA in 2012, fully in support of mining interests and Walker's mining bill.

Iron County DA Martin Lipske on display. Letter shows capricious behavior

Iron County DA Commits Capricious Action Against an Innocent Man

Don Miller, an innocent man with his son, Kirk.
Iron County DA Martin Lipske committed
a malicious prosecution

Update III: Don Miller was ordered freed, with five years probation, after the University of Wisconsin-Madison Innocence Project secured this stipulation.

Meanwhile, the corrupt district attorney, Martin Lipske, violated a Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule [SCR 20:3.6  Trial publicity] in his pursuit against a 20-something woman protesting the GTac mine. How Lipske is still allowed to practice law, much less serve as a district attorney is mystifying. See Kochs Target Iron Co Races, as Corrupt Judge and DA Target Mining Protestor.

Update II: Had heard things are a little crazy way up in northern Wisconsin, but not like this. A source tells me that staff working with the University of Wisconsin Law School's Innocence Project was in negotiations with Iron County DA Martin Lipske, and that Lipske is in a phrase: Criminally dishonest. At a September 2012 hearing on paroling the innocent man, Lipske reneged on an agreement stipulating the release of Donald Miller, an innocent man serving a 42-year sentence, in an apparent underhanded attempt to have Miller burn up legal avenues. The judge, Patrick J Madden, a corrupt bozo, rejected the agreement and Lipske said nothing in response at the hearing. This is far-northern Wisconsin, a rat's nest of corruption the likes of which I have never encountered in Wisconsin, and have never even heard of.

Update: A reader says this capricious action by a sitting Wisconsin District Attorney in the letter at end is a sick prosecutor "taunting" the innocent man he threw in prison. I agree.

Corrupt, pro-mining District Attorney Martin Lipske Committed a Malicious Prosecution of Innocent Man in 1997.

Now, Lipske capriciously denies a parole recommendation for the man he prosecuted, a position reversing Lipske's prior position because Lipske said the imprisoned man's parents publicly noted Lipske's license to practice law was suspended for misconduct.

Yeah. This reveals how Martin Lipske makes value decisions.

See the Anatomy of a Wrongful Conviction website.

Lipske's letter on the official Iron County (Wisconsin) District Attorney letterhead, indicating Lipske's capricious reversal is below.

The Anatomy of a Wrongful Conviction site could perhaps be entitled a malicious prosecution site instead.

Some background.

The Wrongful Conviction site was recently updated to include a link to Anthony Stellas's The StellaReport.com,  featuring updates on the "developing GTAC (Gogebic Taconite Mine) fiasco in Iron County."

Stella ran against Lipske for DA in 2012 in an election that Lipske narrowly won after a suspicious recount that reversed the election result. Lipske won by four votes out of some 3,200 votes cast.

A background source, speaking without attribution because he said Lipske is vindictive, said including the two updates on Lipske's 2012 election and referencing the updates as "news" that Lipske had his license suspended has led to Lipske's bizarre behavior and his letter to an imprisoned man who, if my reading of these documents is correct, is innocent.

Lipske's letter has been posted since August 7, 2013 by a group in northern Wisconsin working to free an innocent man, and who have alerted me to this development, this posting of the letter.

Mal contends, began researching the career of the Iron County District Attorney, Martin Lipske, after news of Lipske's inappropriate and unethical public musing over launching prosecutions against Gogebic Taconite mining protesters prior to any criminal complaint or the inception of any law enforcement investigation.

Local jurists in Dane County (Wisconsin) where I live have confirmed that Lipske is indeed a reckless jurist, a pattern of behavior confirmed by the State Bar of Wisconsin in July 2013.

The bar confirmed a two-year suspension of Lipske's license to practice law characterized as engaging in professional misconduct composed of "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misconduct" in July 1990, some 23 years ago. The Bar also confirmed other, less serious administrative suspensions.

Just how corrupt are things up north in Iron County (Wisconsin), population: Some 5,900?

Turns out District Attorney Martin Lipske is more corrupt and reckless than even what his fellow jurists believe.

A piece published here, entitled Iron County DA Has History of Professional Misconduct, Suspension of License for Discipline (Jul 17, 2013), drew a long comment from a reader blasting Martin Lipske for Lipske's wrongful prosecution of as many documents suggest (advise taking a few weeks to read them over), an innocent man, Donald R. Miller, subsequently sentenced to a 42-year sentence for a crime that has been publicly recanted by the alleged victim, who at the very least can be said to not be a credible accuser.

Malicious prosecution

Lipske's involvement includes almost no law enforcement investigation; Lipske just took a story that the former live-in girlfriend of Miller's apparently fabricated, and absent an investigation, ran with it and made a criminal case.

Turns out Miller is up for parole this year. Lipske has previously said Miller did not deserve the 42-year sentence, and had agreed to Miller to stipulate his release this year.

Last month, Lipske sent a letter dated July 11, 2013 to Miller reading in part: "My intentions were to send a copy of the stipulation in which I agreed to your release. However, between the time that I received the form and the due date, I received another letter through the actions of your parents challenging my license to practice law. Therefore, nothing was sent as I intended."

An innocent man is imprisoned by Lipske; and now Lipske is willy-nilly making value decisions on a man's life, and others.

This is the same District Attorney who has charged a 20-something mining protester, Katie Kloth, with multiple-felony robbery and other criminal violation for protesting, raising her voice and allegedly grabbing a cell phone from a mining company official.

This Miller matter will be brought to the attention of the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation—the governing Wisconsin authority for lawyer misconduct, and the office that prosecutes violations of lawyer ethics rules—if I have to do it myself.

Miller's son Kirk, after his efforts to free his father failed in the face of corrupt and unyielding Iron County officials, committed suicide.

How many lives will be ruined before we begin asking questions about Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske?

Iron County DA Martin Lipske on display. Letter shows capricious behavior

This site has received no information whatsoever about Lipske's two-year suspension of his license to practice law in Wisconsin from Miller's parents. The State Bar of Wisconsin contacted by phone (and from whom I received an e-mail) on July 17, 2013 is my source for the piece, Iron County DA Has History of Professional Misconduct, Suspension of License for Discipline, run on July 17, 2013.

Just saying.