GREEN BAY, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A Wisconsin judge has thrown out the disorderly conduct fine against an attorney who objected to how Green Bay's clerk accepted absentee ballots in a 2022 election.
Janet Angus made a stand against Green Bay Clerk Celestine Jeffreys, who had taken two absentee ballots directly from an individual in April 2022. The Waukesha County Circuit Court had already ruled the only acceptable sources of absentee ballots are the U.S. mail or an elector.
Angus challenged Jeffreys' taking of the ballot and filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. But that just led to disorderly charges from Green Bay three months later, and a city judge found her guilty and fined her almost $400.
She appealed to Brown County Circuit Court, where Judge Tammy Jo Hock agreed with her at a hearing on Jan. 26. Fox 11 has posted a transcript.
"I find that the City has not met its burden with regard to Miss Angus being disorderly, and so I'm going to grant the motion, and this citation will be dismissed," Hock said.
"I don't have to address the other concerns and arguments that are made about election integrity because I don't find that Miss Angus' behavior was disorderly, but I will observe that it does appear that this municipal citation was retaliatory due to the Wisconsin Elections complaint that was filed."
Hock's decision essentially foils a government official's quest to punish a citizen who wanted to ensure an election was done according to the law.
She noted the election incident occurred on April 5, 2022 and the Elections Commission complaint came April 20, but the criminal investigation didn't begin until after.
The national executive director of American Majority called Angus' victory a "big win for election integrity."
"She bravely confronted illegal election acceptance of multiple absentee ballots and faced retaliation from the City of Green Bay," Matt Batzel said.
"The Left wants to bully, intimidate and silence any who want to stand for election integrity. Conservatives cannot be silenced. We must continue to ensure that our election laws are followed, so that we can have confidence in our elections."
At the Jan. 26 hearing, Jeffreys had attempted to convince Judge Hock that Angus' actions had caused a problem at City Hall.
"It was a difficult day. We had all lost our appetite... (A)nother staff member was crying as a result of the interaction," Jeffreys testified.