As we enter what will likely be another very challenging night in Kenosha County, I want the public to know that the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department and our partners in law enforcement are doing our utmost to protect our community during this unprecedented time of unrest.
We are working alongside members of the Kenosha Police Department and law enforcement departments from across Wisconsin, as well as state and federal authorities and the Wisconsin National Guard, in a concerted attempt to minimize the spread of the destructive behavior that has plagued us since Sunday night.
People are frustrated, I get it. And they’re scared. I certainly get that, too. Rumors abound on social media and elsewhere, with widely varying levels of truth to them. We know that much of the damage is being inflicted by people coming in from outside our community, with the intent to rob and destroy, not to engage in their First Amendment right to demonstrate.
The best thing our residents can do to stay safe is to stay home tonight and abide by the curfew that will be in effect from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. tomorrow. If you want to protest peacefully, by all means go out and do it. It’s your right. But don’t be a part of this destructive force that’s burning our community. That’s not a productive path to justice.
And know that we are working actively to continue marshaling the resources we need to bring this disruption under control. Just today, our county executive, Jim Kreuser, and our mayor, John Antaramian, worked with the governor to bring more National Guard troops to Kenosha tonight and in the coming days. And we are working to bring in help from federal authorities as quickly as possible.
We are not sitting idly, watching the destruction of our community. We’re making every effort to make it stop, and I hope you will too.