David Crowley, Milwaukee County Executive and Democratic gubernatorial nominee, is busy trying to gaslight the public after chaos exploded on the final night of the Wisconsin State Fair.
Videos captured groups of teens and young adults punching, kicking, and chasing people across the fairgrounds Sunday night. One officer was struck. A security guard was injured. Seven people were arrested. Families ran for safety as fights broke out near food stands and the grandstand.
Republican nominee Tom Tiffany immediately connected the violence to Crowley’s record running Milwaukee County: “This is Milwaukee County under David Crowley. Crime. Chaos. At least one officer punched. Public safety starts with leadership, and Crowley’s leadership has failed Milwaukee County. Don’t let him fail Wisconsin.”
Crowley’s response? The classic leftist dodge: ‘But actually…’ followed by a whopper:
“Let’s be very clear,” Crowley said. “State Fair is actually controlled by the state of Wisconsin, which is controlled by the Republican-controlled Legislature…”
Apparently, Crowley’s memory short-circuited when he forgot the Governor is a Democrat. Blaming the GOP legislature is not just misleading—it’s pure fiction.
The Wisconsin State Fair Park is run by a 13-member board. The governor—Democrat Tony Evers—handpicks seven of them and names the chair. Add in four legislators (split evenly) and two agency secretaries, and you have 11 out of 13 board members from Crowley’s own political tribe. The park’s CEO and staff handle daily operations. The legislature doesn’t control security, staffing, or anything else Crowley wants to blame them for.
The fairgrounds are in West Allis, right in Milwaukee County. Local law enforcement—West Allis police, State Fair Park Police, and Milwaukee County resources—scrambled to contain the chaos. The teens running wild are the direct result of the same Milwaukee environment Crowley has cultivated for years as county executive: soft-on-crime policies, revolving-door justice, and a youth violence epidemic that keeps putting Milwaukee in the national spotlight.
This isn’t a debate over which police department has jurisdiction. It’s about the basic fact that normal Wisconsinites can no longer go into Milwaukee County to enjoy a night at the fair without having to worry about a giant brawl breaking out around them.
Crowley’s finger-pointing at Republican lawmakers is classic political buck-passing. Whenever violence erupts under Democratic rule in Milwaukee County, the playbook never changes: blame the state, blame the legislature, blame anyone except the people actually running the show.
The State Fair is meant to be a family tradition. Instead, closing night featured mobs treating the midway like a UFC free-for-all. Crowley can keep pointing fingers at Madison. Wisconsinites watching the footage know exactly whose backyard is breeding the chaos.
