Bice: David Clarke is talking about a Senate bid. Here's what he says about Jan 6 and the Proud Boys

Last time we paid any real attention to former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., he was being booted off Fox News, being shunned by Donald Trump's family and was breaking up with his business partner, who he said was a Muslim Brotherhood operative who "duped" him.

He was also pulling down a government pension of more than $100,000 a year.

But now Clarke is talking openly with national media outlets about running as a Republican against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin next year, even though he has no money or statewide operation. Madison mogul Eric Hovde is expected to enter the race, and Franklin businessman Scott Mayer is still considering a run.

So what has the controversial sheriff been up to the past two or three years?

First, Clarke set up a nonprofit business called Rise Up Wisconsin. Even though the group is relatively new, it was "delinquent" with the state — until Clarke was asked about it by the Journal Sentinel last week. That same day, he filed an annual report for the group and took steps so it is "restored to good standing."

He has also been talking a lot on social media and elsewhere, saying the kind of stuff that would make it extremely difficult for him to win in a general election.

For instance, he said the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, was "child's play," a "joke" and a "frat party gone wild" and has called for pardoning everyone involved in it. He claimed “the only violence” was the death of rioter Ashli Babbitt, even though the rioters assaulted officers more than 1,000 times, according to Politico.

He has also insinuated that the riot could have been an inside job, calling it a "fedsurrection."

Clarke has singled out the Proud Boys, whom authorities say played a central role in the Capitol mob action, urging the FBI to drop its investigations into the group. He has also said the Proud Boys are "non threatening" and "non violent" and said the charges against top members of the organization are "an abuse of power."

“We need a chapter of the Proud Boys right here in Wisconsin," Clarke said in a Milwaukee rally just two months before the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Three leaders of the far-right group have been sentenced to between 15 years, 17 years and 22 years behind bars for engaging in seditious conspiracy for their roles in masterminding and leading the Capitol riot. Those were among the longest sentences handed down for Jan. 6 defendants.

But that's not all.

Clarke has said voting in Wisconsin is not "fair," "open" or "honest." He went on to claim that fraud detection experts he was working with had turned up "a lot of irregularities" in Wisconsin's 2020 vote.

President Joe Biden beat Trump by 21,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2020 — a result that has been confirmed by two recounts paid by Trump, state audits, a partisan review, a conservative study and multiple lawsuits. Clarke hasn't come forward with his supposed evidence of improper voting.

He has blasted fellow Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Mitt Romney and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while repeatedly praising Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Finally, Clarke has called abortion "legalized murder" and asserted that the procedure is "as immoral a wrong as slavery." He has suggested that the procedure should be banned.

"Oh bag it Democrats," Clarke wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 29, 2022. "They claim gun control will save lives. SO WILL A BAN ON ABORTION. That kills more lives than guns do."

Amid all this, Clarke was temporarily banned from X for three posts that seemed to call for violence against members of the media.

Of course, all of these incendiary statements come in addition to Clarke's record as sheriff, when at least four inmates died at the Milwaukee County Jail, he appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' show and he traveled to Russia in 2015 on a trip paid for by a group funded by convicted Russian agent Maria Butina.

Over the years, he has also referred to Black Lives Matter as “Black Lies Matter” and once said the movement would "join forces with ISIS."

Last week, Clarke did not respond to questions about his organization, his recent comments and past statements about not wanting to run for the U.S. Senate.

"I have no interest in running for elected office other than being sheriff," he said in his 2017 memoir, Cop Under Fire.

Behind the scenes, Republican leaders say they know of no one on their side who is taking a possible Clarke candidacy seriously. Democrats, meanwhile, say they would love to run against Clarke (who last ran as a conservative Dem in 2016).

Officially, Arik Wolk, rapid response director for the state Democratic Party, said this on Friday:

"Tammy Baldwin will win next November, no matter which far-right Republican emerges from what is sure to be a messy GOP primary. Wisconsinites have shown over and over again that they reject the extreme MAGA agenda of politicians like David Clarke."

In recent days, Clarke has been feuding with his own side, reaffirming his stance that establishment Republicans and campaign groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee do not want him to run for Senate.

"I will not allow the @NRSC and NRC (sic) to leave me high and dry after the primary. They want nothing to do with me," he wrote on X. "They can’t control me. They would sacrifice winning control of the Senate rather than get behind me."

Republicans in Washington, D.C., have largely remained silent about Clarke's attacks. But NRSC Chairman Steve Daines, a senator from Montana, told the Journal Sentinel: "Well, we're looking for candidates who can win primaries and general elections."

The feud is nothing new.

Back in April, shortly after Clarke first indicated his interest in running for the Senate, he said on his podcast that Republican leaders were seeking "filthy rich" candidates because their side was trailing Democrats in fundraising. Clarke said this meant more "old, white guys" on the ballot.

"Do you know what this reeks of?" asked Clarke, who is Black. "Minority candidates and women candidates need not apply."

That may be the most sensible thing the guy has said in quite a while.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

THANK YOU: Subscribers' support makes this work possible. Help us share the knowledge by buying a gift subscription.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Clarke called Jan. 6 riot a 'frat party' and defended Proud Boys