The English Department chair at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire flipped over a table that was being used by the school’s College Republicans chapter to promote two conservative candidates in Tuesday’s statewide election.
Tatiana Bobrowicz, who chairs the campus chapter, recounted to local news outlets that she set up a table outside the student center to promote Wisconsin supreme court candidate Brad Schimel and state superintendent contender Brittany Kinser. A man approached the table asking Bobrowicz why it was so close to the polling location inside the student center.
The student leader explained that the table was more than 100 feet away from the polling place in compliance with Wisconsin’s electioneering laws. The table display was also approved by the university, she said.
In response, the man said “the time for this is over” and flipped the table before walking away. Following the brief incident, video footage shows various items strewn over the sidewalk.
“Violent Crawford supporter flipped our table this morning. Vote Schimel to bring back justice and civility!” the College Republicans chapter posted on X.
The university later notified Bobrowicz that the man was identified as José Felipe Alvergue, who chairs the English Department. Alvergue was put on administrative leave following the incident.
“I am deeply concerned that our students’ peaceful effort to share information on campus on election day was disrupted. UW-Eau Claire strongly supports every person’s right to free speech and free expression, and the university remains committed to ensuring that campus is a place where a wide variety of opinions and beliefs can be shared and celebrated,” Interim Provost Michael Carney said in a public statement.
“Civil dialogue is a critical part of the university experience, and peaceful engagement is fundamental to learning itself. We are working with the Universities of Wisconsin and the Office of General Counsel, which is conducting a comprehensive investigation of this matter. The faculty member involved has been placed on administrative leave pending that investigation.”
A UW-Eau Claire spokesperson declined to comment beyond the interim provost’s official statement amid the ongoing investigation.
Brian Schimming, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, condemned the violent act. Fred Kappus, chairman of the Republican Party of Eau Claire County, called for Alvergue to apologize to the campus group and then urged UW-Eau Claire to fire the faculty member instead of keeping him on administrative leave.
Bobrowicz was appalled by Alvergue’s actions, saying as a university employee “he’s supposed to set an example for students and here he is setting an example of violence.”
Alvergue is being charged with disorderly conduct, according to publicly available Wisconsin court records. The defendant is due for a court appearance on May 7.
In Tuesday’s Wisconsin races, Schimel and Kinser lost to liberal Judge Susan Crawford and Democratic state superintendent Jill Underly, respectively.
All eyes were on the Wisconsin supreme court election, drawing national attention from former President Barack Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) On the GOP side, Elon Musk poured over $20 million into the race and offered three $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters in a similar stunt he pulled during the last presidential election cycle.
Musk put his support behind Schimel in an effort to prevent the court’s liberal majority from ruling in favor of cases that could redraw the state’s congressional districts. Redistricting would potentially give Democrats an edge over the Republican majority in the House, the tech billionaire argued.
“Whichever party controls the House to a significant degree controls the country, which then steers the course of Western civilization,” Musk said over the weekend. “I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it’s going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will.”