"Things have gone too far": Dane County leaders condemn firebombing of City County Building

Dane County Leaders sent a strong message Wednesday afternoon: violence and destruction will not be tolerated.

“The City County Building was set on fire by anarchists,” said Dane Co. Sheriff Dave Mahoney, referring to someone throwing a Molotov cocktail into the building Tuesday night.

Mahoney said the sheriff’s department was prepared to assist Madison Police Wednesday night if violence broke out again.

“This week is clear evidence that our downtown Madison is not safe,” he said.

Mahoney added that the fire at the City County Building put everyone in danger, forcing the 911 dispatch center to evacuate and threatening inmates in the Dane County Jail.

Security cameras at the Dane County Jail were also taken down and painted over, and people tried to get into the booking entrance of the jail.

Mahoney also called on both Freedom, Inc. and Urban Triage to publicly denounce the violence. Both groups advocate ending injustice against the Black community and have been involved in organizing peaceful protests.

“It is their silence and failure to denounce and stand against these extreme acts of violence which endanger the lives of the very people they advocate for and the children of families impacted by these issues,” he said.

Mahoney also expressed support for the message behind nonviolent protests. He said he wants to work with community groups to end racism and police bias.

“We must better train our law enforcement. We must hold each other in this profession accountable for our actions,” he insisted.

Dane Co. Executive Joe Parisi also spoke out against the destruction Tuesday night.

“Things have gone too far.”

That was Parisi’s message in response to the firebombing of the City County Building late Tuesday night. He also shared an image that appeared to show the moment right before a Molotov cocktail was hur... (Read more)

Tweets mentioned:

https://twitter.com/SanikaBhargaw/status/1275874891150102530

Latest News