Wisconsin lawmaker who took protest sign says military training taught him it was a safety risk

MADISON - State Rep. Dale Kooyenga said he removed a protest sign from the state Capitol last year — an act that is costing taxpayers $30,000 — in part because his military training had taught him the placement of the sign could endanger the public.

Kooyenga, a Brookfield Republican running for state Senate, also defended having taxpayers bankroll the $30,000 court settlement he reached for removing the sign and putting it in his office, video of a Wednesday town hall-style talk shows.

“I'm not going to give the complete details, but the military, when I was in the military, military intelligence — and when you have something like a sign against a curved wall in a place where it shouldn't be, is that is a clear risk, OK?” he told the crowd. “You can't just leave signs that conceal something in the public.”

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) called Kooyenga’s claims that the sign presented a risk laughable.

“This had nothing to do with military training,” Erpenbach said. “It had to do with he can’t control his emotions.”

Kooyenga on Thursday stood by his claim that the sign was a safety risk.

"A sign offers an opportunity to conceal," he said.

RELATED: Wisconsin taxpayers to pay $30,000 to settle lawsuit after Rep. Dale Kooyenga took a protester's sign

In May, Donald Johnson of Madison placed a sign in the Capitol that criticized President Donald Trump, without naming him, as "corrupt" and "a serial groper." It said Republicans backed the president, "we the people be damned."

Johnson had a state permit to display the sign in the Capitol, which he said he had taped to the back of the sign.

The sign had been in the rotunda but had been moved into a vestibule to clear room for a public event, according to Kooyenga. He said he thought it was odd the sign was there, heightening his safety concerns.

Kooyenga picked up the sign. He said he saw that nothing was behind it and took it to his office because he thought it was uncivil and posed a safety risk.

After Johnson complained about the missing sign, the Capitol Police saw on security video that Kooyenga had taken the sign and recovered it from him. Gov. Scott Walker's administration has refused to release the video.

Johnson sued in federal court, saying his civil rights had been violated. Kooyenga settled it last week.

Johnson's attorney, Lester Pines, said he didn't buy Kooyenga's claim that the sign presented a safety risk, saying he could have easily reported his concerns to one of the police officers routinely stationed in the Capitol.

"I previously said that Rep. Kooyenga had violated the 8th Commandment — thou shalt not steal," Pines said. "Now he's violating the 9th Commandment — thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. I only hope that he won't violate the 10th Commandment — thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's ass."

At the town hall appearance, Kooyenga took a shot at Pines for work he did in the 1970s representing one of those who bombed Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin. Pines shrugged off that comment.

"I'm glad he knows I did a good job for my client when I was 26 years old," Pines said.

Kooyenga blamed his political opposition for what happened and said he was frustrated that taking the sign and reaching the settlement had generated more coverage than a ticket Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) received in 2011 as part of a prostitution sting at an Appleton massage parlor. Hintz has since ascended to minority leader.

“You can imagine how frustrated I am when a Democrat who is, who gives money to women for sexual stuff, becomes a one-day story in the press, a one-day story,” Kooyenga said Wednesday. “And then I'm just simply trying to do what I feel was right and in hindsight would have done it differently and it becomes a four-day story.”

He repeated that sentiment Thursday in a brief interview.

"How many times are you going to do this story, man?" Kooyenga asked.

He said he thought it was important to note that Wisconsin's Capitol is either the only or one of very few capitols that allow unattended protest signs.

At the town hall meeting, Kooyenga was asked why taxpayers had to pay $30,000 for an error he made.

He noted the state does not make its employees pay personally when they reach court settlements for their actions as government employees. He cited as an example a recent $18.9 million settlement the state reached with a teen inmate who was severely brain damaged after she hanged herself in her cell.

“When that happens, the state doesn't go after individuals, they, the state has funds set aside for legal settlements,” Kooyenga said. “Because the cost of maintaining legal action throughout the whole process is expensive.”

Kooyenga told the crowd he should have handled the situation differently but largely blamed it on his political opponents.

“This is a political, let's-go-after-Representative-Kooyenga (move),” Kooyenga said. “This is a political action. This was not a criminal action. This is a civil action by a person who's aligned with the opposition. It was a political act.”

Erpenbach disagreed, saying Kooyenga had created the problem himself by throwing a “tantrum” over the sign.

“This isn’t his political opponents. I didn’t tell him to go steal that sign,” Erpenbach said. “He needs to understand there is room in this state for people to disagree with you.”