WI GOP Rep Decries ‘Lack of Accountability For Many… Who Engaged in Criminal Behavior’ During Kenosha Riots

On the one year anniversary of when the riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin began, U.S. House Rep Bryan Steil (R-WI) appeared on Fox News and decried the lack of “accountability” for those involved in the mayhem.

In a clip that was tweeted by Steil on his campaign account, Co-Host of “Fox & Friends” Steve Doocy asked him, “What’s the status of charges against the people who lit the businesses on fire and destroyed property?”

Steil responded, “There is a lack of accountability for many of those individuals who engaged in criminal behavior.”

“What we should have had was sufficient resources beginning on night one to arrest those individuals engaging in criminal activity,” Steil explained.

Steil then took aim at Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as he lamented, “Unfortunately, our Democratic governor, like liberals across the United States, failed to provide sufficient resources to arrest criminals engaging in criminal behavior and the result is many individuals who engaged in that type of behavior, whether it was burning down buildings or serious bodily injury are failing to be held accountable right now in Kenosha and across the United States.”

In the tweet, Steil stated, “Kenosha is coming back, but it didn’t have to happen this way. One year ago the city was ablaze after Governor Evers failed to provide the resources needed to end the violence. There is a bright line between the First Amendment and Riots.”

Kenosha is coming back, but it didn’t have to happen this way. One year ago the city was ablaze after Governor Evers failed to provide the resources needed to end the violence. There is a bright line between the First Amendment and Riots. pic.twitter.com/0DYxZnxIDc

— Bryan Steil (@BryanSteil) August 23, 2021

In another clip that was shared on Steil’s government account, which appeared to be from the beginning of the interview, he accused Evers of failing “to provide the resources that were needed to end criminal behavior” in the city for “three terrible nights.”

The city of Kenosha has come a long way in the past year. But the violence that rang out for three nights should never have occurred. And it would not have happened if Governor Evers provided sufficient resources to end the riots. pic.twitter.com/r11gWf80Yq

— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) August 23, 2021

Last month, Steil wrote an op-ed on Evers’ handling of the situation in which he said that Evers was refuting himself in regards to his own handling of the riots.

According to Steil, Evers’ statement and his public comments in the days that followed the initial riots were so offensive and so dangerous that the heads of the Wisconsin Sheriffs’ Associations and Police Chiefs’ Association sent a letter to the governor.

Evers has stated that his administration fulfilled the requests for national guard troops, which is a point of contention. Clearly the amount that was sent to the city was not enough to prevent what happened.

An recent attack ad against Evers by Empower Wisconsin, who released Steil’s op-ed, features a Kenosha businesswoman who asserts that Evers did not send help to Kenosha until after the Kyle Rittenhouse incident where two people were killed.

As pointed out in an article discussing how Evers’ team wants the ad pulled because they claim that he did provide the help, after the deaths, the number of national guardsmen skyrocketed compared to the first two nights, from 125 and 250 to 750, and then to 2,000.

Steil also pointed out in his op-ed that Evers refused help from then President Donald Trump, which occurred hours before the deaths.

In a report issued roughly a week after the riots began last year, Kenosha police said it had arrested 175 people in connection with riots and looting in the city.

It was also reported that the majority of arrests were for minor violations like failure to comply with a government-ordered curfew and disorderly conduct, but Kenosha police say a number of individuals were arrested for things like burglary, possession of illegal drugs, and possession of a concealed weapon.