Green Bay mayor, city sued by Wisconsin State Senate, Sen. Jacque over City Hall audio surveillance
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
GREEN BAY – The Republican-controlled Wisconsin State Senate is suing Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, who is a Democrat, and the city after learning that audio recording equipment was installed at the Green Bay City Hall without consent or informing the public.
“And when this type of electronic surveillance occurs in government buildings where individuals come to discuss sensitive political matters with their elected representatives, it unconstitutionally infringes upon protected speech,” read part of the lawsuit, which was filed at the Brown County Courthouse Tuesday by state Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, former City Council member Anthony Theisen, along with the Wisconsin State Senate and “Jane Doe” and "others similarly situated."
The lawsuit is seeking an immediate injunction requiring the mayor and the city to remove equipment, destroy all audio recordings and to refrain from using the recordings in any way.
It claims that Genrich did not seek the Green Bay City Council’s consent before installing the audio recording devices and distributes the recordings in response to public records requests.
The lawsuit also quotes the American Civil Liberties Union, which described the surveillance devices at the Green Bay City Hall as causing “very serious privacy invasion,” the like of which they have not before seen anywhere in the country.
Attempts to reach the city attorney were unsuccessful Wednesday afternoon.
Wisconsin is a "one-party state," meaning, generally, a conversation can legally be recorded if at least one person in the conversation are aware that a recording is being made.
The city posted a fact sheet on its website Feb. 10 stating the security system was installed on the first and second floors of City Hall between winter of 2021 and summer of 2022.
“This type of security system is lawful and commonplace,” the city stated in its fact sheet. “There has been similar technology in place in the Green Bay Police Department’s lobby for nearly a decade. … As is common knowledge security cameras have become an integral part of public safety across the country. There are 14 cameras located in multiple public areas of City Hall … Three of those cameras … have audio capability.”
The city also explained that it does not consider this police surveillance, but the Green Bay Police Department does have access to the feed in case of emergency.
City officials further explained that signs are not required to inform people about the audio recording equipment, but administrative officials have since decided to install signs.
Genrich advance through the primary election on Tuesday and will face Chad Weininger, who’s currently serving as the Brown County administration director, for the mayor’s seat in the April 4 election.
A hearing on the lawsuit is set for Feb. 27 in Brown County Circuit Court.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay sued over secret surveillance at City Hall
