Wisconsin leaders react to Trump’s conviction

(The Center Square) – The reaction in Wisconsin to former President Donald Trump’s felony conviction in New York seemed expected.

Republican leaders in the state said Thursday’s guilty verdicts are a perversion of justice.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said on social edia “After this travesty of justice, our judicial system will never be the same. How can this not be considered the most egregious example of election interference?”

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the verdict was a “sad day for America,” and said the Trump’s conviction was purely political.

“Being an American used to mean that the free exchange of ideas in our political system was how you won. Now, it appears Democrats have sought to change the definition by using the justice system in the most overt, unfair way to bludgeon their political opponent. This is what happens in other countries, not in the United States of America,” Vos said on social media. “The only thing that can right the wrong of this politically motivated persecution and restore balance to our now broken system is for Donald J. Trump to become our next president.”

Democrats in Wisconsin, however, celebrated.

“Guilty!,” Madison Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan said on social media. “Validation that Trump was trying to manipulate the election prior to January 6, where he again acted as a criminal. Now let’s move on to reelecting @JoeBiden.”

“Guilty on all 34 counts,” Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said on his social media account. “In the end, 12 strangers had more courage to hold Donald Trump accountable than the entirety of the Republican establishment.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said the former president has been held accountable.

“Donald Trump had his day in court. A jury of his peers saw that there was evidence beyond a reasonable doubt he was guilty. No one, including a former president, is above the law,” Baldwin said in a statement.

Milwaukee Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore said “I have trust in the justice system and know that the members of the jury followed the evidence and made their decision accordingly. Justice was served.”