Monroe Co Sheriff unretires to oppose ex-employee he says is unqualified

Sheriff Wes Revels is running a write-in campaign to defeat his former jail sergeant Mike Krause, who won the primary. Krause declared himself independent of the U.S. in 2008.

By Wanwa Omot, THE BADGER PROJECT

Monroe County Sheriff Wesley Revels was preparing to retire and pass his position to his chief deputy, whom he endorsed in August’s Republican primary. Then came the election results.

Mike Krause, a former jail sergeant for the sheriff’s department and personal gym owner, defeated Chris Weaver with more than 63% of the vote, 3,697 to 2,147.

“We just could not believe it,” Revels said in an interview with The Badger Project.

Concerned about Krause becoming the top law enforcement officer in the county, supporters were asking Revels what he could do, the sheriff said. So he is now running as a write-in candidate ahead of next month’s general election.

Due to some of his past actions and one major declaration, Revels said that he was “very much concerned about the employees at the sheriff’s office and people of Monroe County would no longer have a qualified candidate to vote for,” he told The Badger Project in a phone interview.

Krause called Revels’ reversal “embarrassing” in a written statement to The Badger Project.

“This blatantly ignores the voters’ decision and tells them they made the wrong choice,” he wrote. “This does not look good coming from the Sheriff’s Office.”

Krause said he believed he won the Republican primary because he ran “a clean campaign and did not engage in disrespecting, discrediting or attacking my opponent. I rest on my Christian values and do not take part in that type of behavior.”

Revels has been sharply critical of Krause, accusing him of breaking federal law and questioning his past declaration that he is independent of the U.S.

Krause was actually outraised by Weaver in terms of campaign fundraising, with nearly $14,000 to more than $16,000, according to reports they filed with the county elections clerk at the end of September. Revels has reported raising more than $6,000 since jumping back into the race.

Political candidates in Wisconsin can continue raising funds through the election. They don’t need to report again until Tuesday, Oct. 26, one week before the election.

‘I deny I am a U.S. citizen’

Back in 2008, when Krause was going through a divorce, he declared himself a sovereign citizen, independent of the United States, in documents submitted to the court. He said it was to protect his assets. He told The Badger Project that the divorce was amicable.

“I deny I am a U.S. citizen” begins the document Krause signed and submitted to the Monroe County Court that year.

In June, Weaver filed a petition asking the Monroe County Clerk to remove Krause from the ballot, claiming the declaration ran counter to the oath Wisconsin law enforcement officials must take.

The Monroe County Clerk denied Weaver’s petition, but that has not stopped Weaver and Revels from using it as ammo in the campaign.

“How can one swear the oath of office if they have a sworn statement on file that the person doesn’t have to follow the Constitution?” Revels asked.

“There is nothing wrong with claiming your sovereignty under the 10th Amendment, as it is a constitutional right,” Krause told The Badger Project.

The 10th Amendment states that powers not given to the federal government in the Constitution are delegated to the states or the people.

Hatch Act accusations

Another accusation swirling around the campaign is whether Krause, when he was working for the sheriff’s department early this year, violated the Hatch Act, a federal law that limits or restricts government employees from conducting political activities and coercion while on duty. State and local governments that receive federal funding are also subject to the Hatch Act. 

The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, operates in the jail and receives federal funding, Revels said, according to a report by Assistant Jail Administrator Lt. Ryan Hallman, which Revels gave to The Badger Project.

In one incident on April 12 of this year, Krause talked with an inmate who mentioned that a man thinks Krause is cool, according to body camera footage The Badger Project reviewed and received from Revels. Krause then said to the inmate, “Make sure he gets out and votes on August 11… You guys didn’t know I’m running for sheriff, right?”

About a week later, Revels ordered Krause in for a meeting and asked him if he was conducting political activity, according to the report. Krause denied doing so, the report says.

Revels then asked Krause if he knew about the Hatch Act, and Krause said he did not, according to the report. The sheriff handed Krause handouts of the agency policy before the meeting ended.

Revels then immediately called in three other jail officers, Ellie Kowitz, Coltin Riffle and Quintin Smith for a meeting to discuss the Hatch Act and whether they witnessed violations on the job. After Smith asked for clarification on the policy, as well as a copy of it, Revels told him that it was on the county website and to “look it up,” according to the report.

All of the officers then removed their IDs and badges and walked out the conference room, resigning from the sheriff’s department, according to the report.

Kowitz, Riffle and Smith were correctional officers in the jail and reported to Krause. Revels “was aware of information that political activities were occurring on their shift, on duty, and asked them all if it was happening,” according to the report.

Smith donated $40 to Krause’s campaign – $20 each on June 19th and June 27th of this year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the county.

In a rebuttal statement posted on his campaign website, Krause said that “none of us were presented with the policy, had it explained, or signed off as acknowledging it ever existed. This is nothing more than failed leadership from the top down.”

The candidates

Krause worked for the sheriff’s department from 2023 until April 21 of this year, when he resigned. He had announced his campaign for sheriff on April 9.

Revels, 67, has been in law enforcement for more than 40 years and was first elected sheriff in 2018. Before that, he served as chief of the Tomah Police Department.

Krause, 55, owns a gym in Tomah and coaches the powerlifting team at Tomah High School. He has been in law enforcement for over 20 years, starting as a correctional officer in New Lisbon in 2004.

The sheriff says he is running again to build on the “solid work ethic and policing into the sheriff’s office,” Revels said in an interview with The Badger Project. If re-elected, he says he will continue to support programs on youth drug education.

Krause says he is running on fiscal responsibility, improving community relations and transparency, according to his campaign website.

Monroe County has a population of about 46,000, according to the U.S. Census. About 25,000 people are currently registered to vote in the county, said Monroe County Clerk Shelley Bohl, who oversees elections in the county.

Eligible voters in Wisconsin can register on the day of the election.

The Badger Project is an independent, reader-supported newsroom in Wisconsin.