An event billed as a summit on preventing youth violence in Milwaukee took a surprising turn last week when one of the anti-gun violence advocates in attendance ended up in handcuffs for, among other things, illegally possessing a firearm.
The “Past, Present, and Future: Youth & Young Adult Violence Prevention Discussion” was hosted by the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, and according to the Milwaukee Courier, which provided some downright obsequious coverage of the event, about 200 people were in attendance.
While the event, which was sponsored in large part by the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, began with a planned structure, organizers quickly realized that the original flow wasn’t connecting. Rather than forcing a rigid agenda, they made a critical pivot, one that ultimately became the defining strength of the gathering. By stepping back, adults created room for young people to engage authentically, connect with one another, and take ownership of the space.
The result was immediate and undeniable.
Young people were not only present, but they were also active.
“When youth are truly centered, everything else gets realigned,” one organizer reflected. “The mission becomes clear again.”
I would have thought the mission would have been clear at the outset, but whatever. Notably, the Courier didn’t bother to cover the arrest of one of the anti-violence advocates who showed up, even though he provided an unexpected lesson for the youth in attendance.
The man, who WISN 12 News is not naming because he has not been formally charged, was wearing a logo for the group “Protect Our Children, Save Our City,” an anti-violence group listed on the flyer for the event.
Deputies in the video said the man drove a stolen car to get there.
“You took the vehicle without consent. Without their permission. Okay? So right now you’re going to be in custody okay?” a deputy said.
The man claimed he did not know the car was stolen.
“I wouldn’t even be driving that…man, if I knew it was stolen,” he said.
A deputy called the car owner’s girlfriend to confirm it was stolen.
“You said…took the vehicle?” the deputy asked.
“Yes and has been driving it without permission,” she replied.
Arrest records show the man was arrested for felony operating without consent and felony possession of a firearm.
“He never paid for the vehicle. And we told him to bring it back and he told us to, basically, kiss his ***” the car owner’s girlfriend said.
The suspect, whose name was not released by WISN because he’s not yet been formally charged, told police that he “had to come to this event” because he was sponsoring the program. The Wisconsin County Department of Health and Human Services, which was the actual sponsor of the program, confirmed though that “Protect Our Children, Save Our City,” was listed on the flyer for the event.
I don’t have a problem with community violence intervention programs, at least in theory. But as we’ve seen in multiple cities, the supposedly former gang members who’ve turned their lives around and serve as violence interrupters for non-profits like Protect Our Children, Save Our City haven’t always changed their ways. In 2023, for instance, the head of a NYC group called Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence was arrested and charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses, while a second member of that group was arrested the following year on different drug and weapons charges.
Will this Milwaukee arrest prove to be a teachable moment for the teens who attended that event, and if so, what lesson will they learn: that crime doesn’t pay, or that prosecutors are all too willing to cut defendants some slack and offer them a plea bargain that allows them to skate on the most serious charges? This is a good opportunity for the Milwaukee County D.A. to get tough on crime, but given that District Attorney Kent Lovern was the top deputy of Soros-funded former D.A. John Chisholm, who earned a reputation of going easy on violent offenders, I’m not holding my breath that the anti-violence activist who was arrested is going to get much more than a slap on the wrist.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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