Here's what we know about the targeted killing of retired Wisconsin Judge John Roemer in the town of New Lisbon
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Retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer was shot and killed in his New Lisbon home on Friday in what the Wisconsin Department of Justice is calling a "targeted attack."
Authorities discovered Roemer, 68, dead and another man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the basement.
Here's what we know so far about what happened. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Who was involved in the incident in New Lisbon in Juneau County?
On Friday, the Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team entered Roemer's house after failed attempts to negotiate with an armed person inside the home, where they discovered Roemer dead around 10:17 a.m.
Law enforcement then discovered a 56-year-old man in the basement of the home with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. That man was identified Saturday as Douglas K. Uhde.
Officers attempted life-saving measures on the man and he was transferred to a medical facility in critical condition. Uhde later died on Tuesday, the DOJ said.
No other individuals were found in the residence.
Who was Judge John Roemer?
John Roemer, known as Jack, was first elected to Juneau County Circuit Court in 2004. Circuit court judges serve six-year terms, and Roemer was reelected in 2010 and 2016, but resigned in August 2017, citing his wife's declining health.
His wife, Vivian Roemer, died in 2018. They had three sons.
Roemer graduated from Hamline University Law School in 1980, according to a judicial publication from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He worked as an assistant state public defender in Baraboo for five years.
Beginning in 1992, he was one of Juneau County's two assistant district attorneys before being elected to the bench in 2004, defeating his former boss, Judge Dennis C. Schuh.
The publication noted that Roemer was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring in November 2002.
Who was the suspect, Douglas K. Uhde?
The Wisconsin DOJ identified the suspect as 56-year-old Douglas K. Uhde.
Attorney General Josh Kaul on Saturday declined to comment on whether Uhde acted alone but repeatedly said there was no longer an active threat to the public.
Uhde was originally declared to be in "critical condition" by the DOJ, but the Department announced Tuesday that he died. He had been declared legally brain-dead since Saturday and was on life-support until Tuesday to allow for organ donation.
Those who know Uhde from his time in Michigan said he has worked in manufacturing and recently at a business selling all-terrain vehicles and boats. Michigan resident Kevin Baden, who grew up with Uhde, said he was living at his mother's house in Kentucky as of four to six months ago.
Baden said Uhde doesn't like authority figures and has "anti-government" sentiments. But Baden and another longtime friend of his, another Michigan resident who only wanted to be identified by his first name, Joshua, said they did not know Uhde to be a violent person.
Was Udhe part of a 'militia' as some have reported?
Some local media outlets said Uhde was tied to an extremist 'militia' group. However, Kaul has repeatedly stated that there is no active threat to individuals, but declined to comment on whether or not Uhde was a white supremacist or held right-wing beliefs.
Uhde had various social media posts that supported former President Donald Trump and others that referred to Hillary Clinton with a derogatory word. Other posts were in strong support of guns.
Kaul declined to discuss how Uhde obtained the gun and whether the homicide is being investigated as domestic terrorism.
Was there a connection between Roemer and Uhde?
In 2005, Roemer sentenced Uhde to six years of prison and nine years of extended supervision, in connection with a 2001 armed burglary of a township of Quincy home.
Roemer was the second judge in the case. Uhde had been sentenced in 2002 by Columbia County Circuit Court Judge James Miller after pleading no contest to the charges. He was allowed to withdraw his plea and the case was reopened after an appellate court ruled Miller should have explained the state's truth in sentencing rules during the plea hearing.
Who called 911?
Around 6:30 a.m., Kaul said, a caller "exited the home" and called 911 from a nearby home. The caller said that there was an armed person and two shots were fired, Kaul said.
Kaul did not provide the caller's relation to Roemer.
Were there other targets, such as Gov. Tony Evers and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer?
Kaul indicated that this appears to be a targeted act. The suspect had other targets, Kaul said, who were “related to the judicial system.”
Kaul has not said how many targets there were, nor has he identified them, but sources told the Journal Sentinel that Gov. Tony Evers was among the targets.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's name was on the gunman's list, her deputy chief of staff Zack Pohl confirmed Saturday.
"Yesterday our office was notified by law enforcement officials that Governor Whitmer's name appeared on the Wisconsin gunman's list. While the news reports are deeply troubling, we will not comment further on an ongoing criminal investigation."
National TV stations, citing law enforcement sources, have reported that Uhde's other targets included U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Is there a threat to anyone else?
There is no "active threat" to individuals, but it is an ongoing investigation, Kaul said.
Other "targets" were notified and "are safe at this point," Kaul said, adding he would not provide names or how many people were targets at this time.
What are neighbors in New Lisbon saying?
A woman who asked to only be identified by her first name, Jackie, told the Journal Sentinel she lives several houses away from Roemer’s home. She said she’s been flooded all day with calls and texts from other community members asking for information, but until law enforcement released details, the only information she had was rumors and hearsay.
When asked if neighbors were rattled by the news, she said, “We’re a small community, so yeah.”
Jackie, a former teacher, said she knew Roemer primarily through two of his children, who were students of hers.
“He walks his dogs all the time,” she said. “He’s friendly, nice enough guy.”
Another neighbor, Jim Barnier, saw some of the situation unfold while leaving for work, including officers with their guns drawn outside Roemer's home. He described Roemer as "one of those neighbors you’d always want."
Where is New Lisbon?
New Lisbon is in Juneau County in central Wisconsin. In 2020, the town had a population of 2,521 people.
The town is about 28 miles northwest from Wisconsin Dells and roughly 30 miles southeast of Fort McCoy. New Lisbon is located along the Lemonweir River and just off Interstate 90/94 at Exit 61.
Who is leading the investigation?
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation and being assisted by the Sauk County Sheriff's Office, Mauston Police Department, Elroy Police Department, Wisconsin State Crime Lab, Wisconsin State Patrol, DOJ’s Office of Crime Victim Services and the FBI.
Joe Taschler of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How was Douglas K. Uhde connected to Wisconsin Judge John Roemer?
