Wisconsin DA admits Waukesha Christmas rampage suspect was released on 'inappropriately low' bail



The Milwaukee County district attorney admitted on Monday that the person suspected of driving his vehicle into crowds of people during a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin Sunday night was released from jail on "inappropriately low" bail.

Darrell Brooks Jr. (39) was taken into police custody Monday morning as a person of interest in the tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of at least five people and injuries to at least 40 more. He is suspected of plowing his Ford Escape SUV into the ongoing holiday parade, striking dozens of bystanders — including children and the elderly.

Shortly after his arrest, news surfaced that Brooks was also the suspect in multiple pending criminal cases but had recently been released from jail after posting bail.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Brooks "has been charged three times in less than two years with recklessly endangering the safety of others, most recently in an incident in which he is accused of running a woman over with his vehicle in Milwaukee."

According to Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm, the suspect should never have been afforded the opportunity for release on such a low bond amount. Brooks posted bail on Nov. 11, just ten days before the mass casualty incident.

"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 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," the district attorney said in a statement.

BREAKING: The Milwaukee Co. District Attorney says Waukesha suspect Darrell Brooks should not have been released on such a low cash bond earlier this month. They are conducting an internal review.\n\n#Waukesha #waukeshaChristmasParadepic.twitter.com/GmUNOkwLpg
— Kristen Barbaresi (@Kristen Barbaresi) 1637601936

On Nov. 5, Brooks was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, felony bail jumping, battery, obstructing an officer, and disorderly conduct for which a cash bail was set at just $1,000, WTMJ-TV reported.

On top of that, he had another pending case involving charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and felon in possession of a firearm.

Chisolm added that his office is "currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bail recommendation in this matter in order to determine the appropriate next steps."

Unfortunately, no matter what retroactive steps are taken, they will not result in the return of lost loved ones to the grieving families.

Debate over low cash or zero-cash bail has been a hot political topic of late, especially in progressive areas of the country where such policies are being tested as an alleged means to bring equity into the criminal justice system. But releasing dangerous criminals onto the street often times brings about grave consequences, as is apparent in the case of Darrell Brooks.

Survey: GOP is concerned about policy issues, while Democrats are most concerned about 'Trump supporters'



A new survey found that while Republican voters are mostly concerned with policy issues, Democratic voters are primarily concerned with Trump supporters and the growth of various "-isms" in the country such as "systemic racism" and "white nationalism."

What are the details?

The survey, conducted by Echelon Insights last week, found that the top concern among Republican voters was illegal immigration, with 81% of respondents reporting that they are very concerned about the issue. Following behind is the lack of support for police in the country, with 79% being very concerned, and high taxes, an issue that 77% said they were very concerned about.

Republicans also did express concern over issues not necessarily related to specific policy — such as liberal bias in the media, the general moral decline of the country, and socialism — but those concerns did not top the list.

Among Democratic voters, however, non-policy-related issues were of greatest concern. In fact, the No. 1 "problem" causing concern for Democratic respondents was not an issue at all, but a group of people — Donald Trump supporters — at 82%.

Moreover, given Trump's popularity within the Republican Party at-large, you might as well refer to Trump supporters as Republican voters. In the 2020 presidential election, more than 74 million Americans voted for Trump.

Following behind Trump supporters, Democratic respondents listed white nationalism and systemic racism as the issues they are most concerned about at 79% and 77%, respectively.

Of issues we asked ONLY of Democrats, their biggest concern is Donald Trump's supporters. https://t.co/4MpbmtfB6u
— Kristen Soltis Anderson (@Kristen Soltis Anderson)1614184591.0

Commenting on the survey results on Twitter, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro noted that many of the consequent concerns among Democrats, were "rooted in slanderous notions about Republicans." You might include issues such as "domestic terrorism," "police brutality," "discrimination against LGBTQ Americans," and "sexism" in that list along with "white nationalism" and "systemic racism."

This writer's perspective

The aforementioned issues, again, have little do with policy, but rather are negative characteristics often associated with Republicans by Democratic lawmakers and members of the mainstream media.

What's more is the survey results indicate that for Democrats, though not necessarily Republicans, compromise is simply not an option. For example, in a hypothetical scenario where Democrats adopted a tougher approach to illegal immigration, Republicans would theoretically work across the aisle. However, Democrats would seemingly never work with Republicans on an issue because their problems are not necessarily with issues supported by Republicans but with Republicans themselves.

"Translation: they're not planning on sharing a country with us, which sadly puts us on the path to a zero sum game," BlazeTV host Steve Deace tweeted.