As RedState previously reported, there were two alarming incidents that took place at the Wisconsin Capitol building Wednesday involving a man who demanded to see Democrat Gov. Tony Evers while allegedly armed in the first incident with a handgun and with an AK-47 in the second one, the latter of which allegedly happened a few hours after he made bail on his original charges.

Evers was not there at the time of the man's two visits.  Both weapons were reportedly fully loaded.

According to reports, though it's legal to carry a firearm into the state Capitol, it must be concealed and you must have a legally-obtained permit to do so. A Department of Administration spokesperson said the suspect did not have one.

The suspect has since been identified as Joshua "Taco" Pleasnick, and more details have been released regarding what is said to have happened:

Joshua "Taco" Pleasnick arrived at the state Capitol shirtless, with a leashed dog and wearing a holstered handgun, around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to information on the incident provided to lawmakers and obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Pleasnick, 43, of Madison, approached the security desk outside Evers' office and said he would not leave until he saw the governor, who was not in the building at the time, spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick told the Journal Sentinel. Police arrested Pleasnick on a charge of openly carrying a firearm inside the Capitol building, a violation of state law.

Pleasnick returned to the state Capitol hours later, at about 9 p.m., with a loaded assault rifle after posting bail. He demanded to see the governor again and was subsequently taken into custody.

Pleasnick allegedly wanted to speak to Evers about what he called the issue of "domestic abuse towards men." 

Not mentioned in early mainstream media reports on what went down and Pleasnick was more information on who he is. But NewsTalk 1130/WISN did some digging and found out that it appears Pleasnick does not fit the "right-wing wacko" narrative often pushed by The Usual Suspects including the media in the aftermath of these types of incidents:

The suspect who was arrested after bringing a handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol Wednesday afternoon and demanding to see Governor Evers, then returning that night with a rifle after posting bail, is a well-known chef at a Madison distillery and an apparent liberal who made multiple donations to Bernie Sanders.

[...]

Pleasnick is a well-known chef who has been profiled by The Wisconsin State Journal and twice by Madison Magazine, most recently in 2019. According to Federal Election Commission records, he donated small amounts of money to Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns in both 2016 and 2020.

They also noted that court records for Pleasnick allegedly showed divorce and child custody issues going back several years.

Here are photos of the suspect, which were released by the Wisconsin State Capitol Police:

Joshua Pleasnick: Bernie Donor, Madison Chef Accused of Bringing Gun to Capitol @wisgop @mkegop @LawOfficer @WaukeshaGOP @WICRs @DanODonnellShow @yount1130 @VickiMcKenna @MarkBellingShow #breakingnews #wisconsin https://t.co/HmIbGF7U1X

— Wisconsin Right Now (@wisconsin_now) October 5, 2023

Twitter/X users were quick to point out that this is not the first time an alleged Bernie Sanders supporter tried to take his frustrations out on an elected official, with the attempted assassinations of GOP members of Congress in 2017 during a summer baseball practice coming to mind:

James T. Hodgkinson shot a bunch of Republicans at baseball practice. Nicholas Roske plotted to murder Brett Kavanaugh. Now this guy. That's at least three off the top of my head. Yet the FBI is going after Trump supporters, of which I am not one. https://t.co/pu96CHAbtb

— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) October 5, 2023

Thankfully, Evers is okay and Pleasnick is in police custody while undergoing psychiatric evaluation.  We'll keep you posted on this developing story. Stay tuned.

Flashback: It Sure Sounds Like Rep. Gerry Connolly's Office Attacker Doesn't Fit the Media Mold