Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) slammed Democratic officials Tuesday following the Christmas parade attack in Waukesha over the weekend that killed at least five people and injured dozens more.
“When you look the other way, when you almost encourage lawlessness — just like, let’s face it, you have political figures during the summer riots of 2020 encouraging people to donate to the bail fund so you can bail these people out … When you encourage lawlessness, you’re going to get more of it,” Johnson said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“It becomes more and more violent. It starts spilling over from crime-ridden, generally Democrat-governed cities into the surrounding areas,” the senator added. “I think that’s probably what we witnessed here in Waukesha.”
Darrell Brooks, 39, was due to appear in court later Tuesday for arraignment after he allegedly plowed an SUV through parade participants in the Milwaukee suburb.
At the time of the rampage, Brooks was out of jail on $1,000 cash bail after allegedly punching his ex-girlfriend and purposefully running her over in a Milwaukee gas station parking lot on Nov. 2, per court documents.
“It’s a tragedy. We need to — we need to tighten things up. We need to actually put violent criminals in jail and keep them in jail,” Johnson said. “We can’t continue this catch and release, whether it’s at the southern border, or whether it’s in our criminal justice system in crime-ridden cities.”
“I hope more Americans are waking up to the reality of what Democratic governance means and what the result of it is,” Johnson said later in the interview.
On Monday, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office announced an internal investigation of how Brooks was given such a low bond given his criminal history and the seriousness of the charges against him in the alleged attack on his ex.
“The state’s bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
“The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail.”
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