Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial outside state Capitol defaced during No Kings protest

MADISON – The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial outside the state Capitol was defaced with black spray paint during the city’s No Kings protest on June 14.

Three suspects were detained, and an investigation by the Wisconsin Capitol Police Department is underway, according to a Madison Police Department incident report.

Protest attendees alerted MPD of the vandalism and asked for them to be removed as they wanted the event to remain peaceful, according to Madison police.

In a response posted to Facebook, the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial board of directors said supports the right to protest provided the activities are peaceful and done with respect to the property of others.

“The officers engraved on that Sacred Memorial had absolutely nothing to do with the reason for that protest. The surviving families and friends have endured enough with their loss. They do not need the additional trauma of having a Memorial dedicated to the ultimate sacrifice their loved ones made to be disgraced,” the Facebook post read.

The board of directors chose not to share photos of the “despicable act” due to the “graphic” and “threatening” content.

Capitol grounds crew responded quickly to clean and repair the damage. The paint was nearly all removed by the evening of June 14.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration was not immediately available for comment on the ongoing investigation.

Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial has a history of damage and defacement

The incident on June 14 is not the first time the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial has been damaged.

In 2017, the memorial was vandalized with writing “#Justice4AnthonySmith.” Former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith, a 24-year-old Black man, in late 2011.

During the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, the memorial was damaged after a protester took a sledgehammer to it 23 times.

The damaged panel was later replaced.

Again in 2023, the memorial was vandalized, with lines drawn over the names of some officers, and words like “service,” among others, on the memorial.

In responce to the vandalization in 2023, Rep. Barbara Dittrich said in a press release she “would like to hear what the Evers administration will to do prevent this from happening again,” expressing disappointment to see the memorial “once again” damaged.

As of 2025, there are 294 names of fallen officers on the memorial.

Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial outside state Capitol defaced during No Kings protest

Reporting by Anna Kleiber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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