Man accused of bringing guns to the Wisconsin Capitol grounds pleads not guilty to misdemeanor firearm charge

By Andy Rose and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — A man accused of bringing guns to the Wisconsin Capitol grounds twice in a day earlier this month pleaded not guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm, court records show.

Joshua Pleasnick, 43, was arrested the afternoon of October 4 after he entered the state Capitol building openly carrying a handgun and asked to speak with Gov. Tony Evers, according to a charging document filed Monday. After posting bail, Pleasnick returned that night with an AK-47-style rifle and was detained, the Wisconsin Department of Administration said at the time.

Pleasnick was given a $500 signature bond Thursday, according to court records, and was ordered to not go within 1,000 feet of the Wisconsin governor or any of the governor’s family. He was also ordered not to possess any type of dangerous weapon or go to certain portions of the Wisconsin Capitol grounds.

Pleasnick faces the misdemeanor charge in connection with his first arrest, the charging document states.

A pre-trial conference is set for November 20. CNN has reached out to Pleasnick’s attorney Michael Edward Covey for comment.

“Wisconsin statutes are clear. Open carry of a firearm is legal and just openly carrying a firearm alone is not grounds for a disorderly conduct offense,” Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne told CNN. “Open carry is not permitted in public buildings which are posted as prohibiting firearms. It appears the second time Mr. Pleasnick had contact with law enforcement their detention of him was due to a safety concern vs. a violation of a Wisconsin Statute.”

When Pleasnick first entered the Capitol building around 2 p.m., he was shirtless and had a small dog on a leash as he walked past the checkpoint gate and tried to go to the governor’s office and speak with Evers, the document says. A State Capitol Police officer stopped Pleasnick and asked him to step behind the gate and fill out a form to meet the governor, the document says.

Pleasnick was openly carrying a holstered handgun, the complaint says. “At no time did he attempt to brandish the firearm,” it notes.

When officers informed Pleasnick he was not allowed to carry the weapon openly inside the Capitol, Pleasnick replied “he would not comply with that rule,” the complaint says. Pleasnick was then arrested.

Pleasnick told police he was not aware that open carry is banned in the Capitol, according to the complaint.

“I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to take a firearm into the Capitol, for that I am guilty,” Pleasnick told the officer, according to the document.

Pleasnick told the officer he wanted to speak to the governor about his concern that men who have been abused by women are not taken seriously by police or the justice system – something he had personally experienced, the document says. Pleasnick said he carried the gun for self-protection because he feared his ex-girlfriend may try to harm him, it says.

“On October 16, 2023, the Dane County District Attorney’s Office issued a criminal complaint for Mr. Joshua Pleasnick for unlawfully carrying a firearm into a public building. This charge stems from the original October 4 incident when Mr. Pleasnick entered the State Capitol building while openly carrying a holstered firearm,” Warrick said, adding, “Pleasnick was released from his initial confinement on the evening of October 17.”

After he posted bail, Pleasnick returned to Capitol grounds around 9 p.m. – after the building had closed to the public – armed with a loaded AK-47-style rifle and repeating his request to see the governor, the state administration department said. Police also found a collapsible police-style baton in his backpack, which is illegal to carry concealed without a permit, the department said.

Officers then took Pleasnick into “protective custody” for a psychiatric evaluation after he made a “concerning statement,” the administration department said.

“Shortly after his release, Mr. Pleasnick was arrested for the violation of Wisconsin concealed carry law relating to the original October 4 incident,” she added.

The complaint does not detail the second incident during which Pleasnick was taken into custody.

Incidents like this always prompt reevaluations of security policies, Evers told reporters earlier this month, adding he was OK.

“The Capitol police took control of the situation and so it’s over, but it’s always something that … you don’t want to see happen, but that’s why we have good people in the police departments and the Capitol Police and the state patrol, they’re doing their great work,” the governor said.

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CNN’s Joe Sutton and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.