Madison resident charged with bringing gun to Wisconsin Capitol arrested again for concealed carry violation

The governor's office announced Wednesday that a man who twice took firearms to the Wisconsin state Capitol and repeatedly asked to meet Governor Tony Evers has been detained once again on suspicion of a concealed carry offence he allegedly committed that same night.

On Tuesday night, Madison resident Joshua Pleasnick, 43, was detained by police. According to an email from Dane County District Ismael Ozanne to The Associated Press, prosecutors decided not to file any additional charges against him, therefore he was released from jail on Wednesday afternoon.

Pleasnick is already charged with a misdemeanour for openly carrying a gun in a public place. He is scheduled to appear in court for the first time on that count on Thursday morning. There was no attorney listed for Pleasnick in online court records.


According to prosecutors and detectives, Pleasnick entered the Capitol on the afternoon of October 4 while wearing no shirt, while walking a dog on a leash and openly carrying a revolver holstered. He went to Governor Evers' office and made a request to talk with him. Evers wasn't present at the time in the structure.

Pleasnick was detained, lodged, and eventually released on bail. Prosecutors claim that he arrived back at the Capitol that same night carrying an AK-style semi-automatic rifle and a police baton. Even though the building was already shut, he again insisted on seeing Evers.

He was detained once more that evening, and the misdemeanour guns charge was officially filed against him on Monday.

The day after he entered the Capitol on October 4, according to Evers' office, he was once more detained on Tuesday night for carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. The baton in his backpack violates concealed carry laws, according to Department of Administration spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick, who said in an email to the Associated Press.