A man who was arrested Wednesday for illegally carrying a gun in the Wisconsin State Capitol while demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers bailed himself out of jail—and returned that evening with a loaded assault rifle. The man arrived at the governor’s office inside the Capitol before 2 p.m., said Tatyana Warrick id Wisconsin’s Department of Administration. He was shirtless, holding a leashed dog and armed with a holstered handgun. He said he wouldn’t leave until he saw the governor. Capitol Police took the man into custody for openly carrying a firearm inside the Capitol, which is illegal. He was brought to the Dane County Jail in Madison and his handgun was taken as evidence, reports the Wall Street Journal.
After posting bail, the man “returned to the exterior of the Capitol with a loaded AK-47-style rifle” at around 9 p.m. and asked to see Evers, Warrick said. Officers with the Capitol Police and Madison Police Department searched his backpack, where they found a police-style baton. He didn’t have a valid concealed-carry permit for the baton. “Based on concerning statements made by the man, officers took him into custody shortly before midnight for a psychiatric evaluation,” Warrick said. Evers wasn’t in the building either time. Evers, a Democrat, was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Public figures and elected officials across the U.S. have faced growing harassment and threats of violence, including a foiled 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The escalating threats and harassment have affected both high-profile figures, such as governors and Supreme Court justices, and lesser-known officials, including school-board members.