Category: Secret Service
Anti-ICE brewer’s death wish: Leftist promises free beer when Trump dies ‘in a few months’ — and the Secret Service takes notice
Kirk Bangstad, the Wisconsin owner of Minocqua Brewing Company and the treasurer of a federal super PAC of the same name, has made no secret of his hatred for President Donald Trump, conservatives, and virtually anyone who doesn’t share his leftist worldview.
For instance, Bangstad — who was ordered to pay a six-figure sum for defamation in 2023 and was charged with harassment last year — stated, “F**k Charlie Kirk,” in a diatribe the day after the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination and wrote weeks later, “May his soul never find peace.”
‘Free beer, all day long, the day he dies. Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise.’
Although the leftist brewer has long engaged in this variety of incendiary commentary, which dovetails with his Ben & Jerry-styled progressive marketing, Bangstad recently raised eyebrows and a potential red flag with a post insinuating the president’s death was forthcoming.
Days after circulating a wanted poster for a federal agent, calling for a “regime change” in the U.S., and stating that “it’s just a matter of time” before “every ICE agent will face justice,” Bangstad said in a Jan. 22 post on the brewery’s Facebook page, “Free beer, all day long, the day he dies. Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise.”
When asked by Fox News for comment, Bangstad appeared to confirm that he was referring to Trump and indicated the brewery would be throwing a “party celebrating the impending death of a twice-impeached convicted felon.”
Bangstad, who unsuccessfully attempted to block President Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot in Wisconsin, did not respond directly to Blaze News’ questions. Instead he accused Blaze News of engaging in “‘gotcha’ state-sponsored propaganda” and shared the contact information of a Blaze News reporter, inviting his followers to email the reporter with their own comments.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
The U.S. Secret Service told Blaze News, “The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the social media post by the Minocqua Brewing Company. Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence.”
Bangstad’s post also caught the attention of various critics, including Libs of TikTok, who noted, “How are we supposed to share a country with these people? Democrats want us dead.”
The American left appears to have a strong appetite for political violence.
‘That’s kind of shady.’
A survey conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab revealed in April 2025 that 55% of respondents who identified as left of center said that assassinating Trump would be at least somewhat justified.
When asked by pollsters about the September 2024 attempt on the president’s life at his golf course in Florida, 28% of Democrats told RMG Research it would have been better if Trump had been gunned down.
While the brewer’s apparent eagerness to see the president die has attracted attention, his super PAC’s expenditures have also prompted scrutiny in recent months.
Some of Bangstad’s former employees alleged to WISC-TV that some of the over $2 million raised by the brewer’s super PAC has gone toward paying regular brewery staff rather than political activities.
“At first, I was paid by a regular direct deposit, and then he said he’s going to pay me from the Super PAC and from the business. And I started to do some research,” said one former employee who spoke to WISC on the condition of anonymity. “I spoke with a couple attorneys and an accountant, and they said, that’s kind of shady, not a good idea.”
The former employee showed the outlet documentation apparently indicating that he received checks from the Minocqua Brewing Super PAC with “organizing” written in the memo line — something he had reportedly not done for the PAC.
Bangstad admitted that some employees receive PAC funds and suggested to WISC that the payments were aboveboard. A civil lawsuit filed in early 2025 suggested otherwise, accusing the leftist of fraud and misuse of donated funds, reported Wisconsin Public Radio.
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Biden-voting Secret Service agent stripped of security clearance after spilling beans to undercover reporter
The U.S. Secret Service has placed an agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance’s protective detail on administrative leave after he allegedly divulged sensitive security secrets to an undercover female reporter.
In footage published on Tuesday by investigative journalist James O’Keefe, USSS agent Tomas Escotto appears to share various specifics regarding Vance’s security detail with the reporter as well as photos revealing the methods used to transport the vice president.
‘When one person falls short, it places an added burden on colleagues who are left to rebuild trust.’
“What we uncovered is troubling,” said O’Keefe, who indicated that the engagements took place in the wake of the attempted break-in at Vance’s Cincinnati home. “We hope that bringing this to light strengthens security and helps prevent future vulnerabilities in our government.”
The video and text messages published by O’Keefe appear to show that Escotto, a self-identified Biden voter, provided the reporter with:
- real-time locations of the vice president;
- insights into Vance’s future travel plans;
- the particulars of how far ahead and behind agents walk in relation to Vance;
- the security detail’s shift schedule;
- photographs taken on duty containing location metadata; and
- photographs providing insights into how the vice president’s vehicle is secured and stored for international travel.
After indicating in the footage that he only received his citizenship in 2018, Escotto criticizes the Trump administration’s immigration policies, stating, “They’re deploying tactics that shouldn’t be deployed.”
Al Drago-Pool/Getty Image
O’Keefe noted that ahead of publishing the video, his team coordinated with the USSS, redacting sensitive operational details at their request.
Blaze News has reached out to Vance’s office for comment.
Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn confirmed in a statement to O’Keefe that the incident is under investigation and “the employee involved has been placed on administrative leave with his clearance suspended and access to agency facilities and systems revoked.”
The USSS is now also requiring all personnel to retake the agency’s anti-espionage training “in order to ensure employees are aware of the threats posed by individuals aiming to exploit agency employees for information about our protective operations.”
Quinn said in a memo to USSS employees that was obtained by O’Keefe, “Over the past several months, an agency employee was deliberately targeted and manipulated by a citizen-journalism media organization that misrepresented itself in an effort to get close to the employee and expose sensitive information. This is the second time in less than a year that our personnel have been subjected to this same deceptive tactic.”
“When one person falls short, it places an added burden on colleagues who are left to rebuild trust that each of us works hard every day to earn and protect,” added Quinn.
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet was among those who emphasized the gravity of O’Keefe’s damning exposé, stating, “This is one of the most disturbing videos I’ve seen in some time. Those tasked with protecting the president, VP, and their families should be a top national priority.”
“That a Secret Service agent could be leaking sensitive information and endangering their lives is a national security threat of the highest importance,” added Kolvet.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, noted, “The Secret Service is a dangerous mess.”
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Lawsuit for Secret Service’s Code Pink Records
Judicial Watch Sues for Secret Service Records on Disruption at Trump Dinner Criminal Aliens Were Using Arrest Warrants, Removal Orders as Legal ID Lawsuit Accuses Trump of Discrimination for Ending DEI Programs Happy New Year! Judicial Watch Sues for Secret Service Records on Disruption at Trump Dinner The Secret Service has a tarnished record […]
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