Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel speaks during his inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Madison, Wis., Jan. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)

Last July, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel suggested that a “bloody revolution” would be needed to get freedom back from socialism in America.

Schimel’s words came during a meet-and-greet hosted by the Republican Party of Adams County on July 6 last summer. The audio was provided to Heartland Signal on the condition of anonymity.

“There’s other places that have had some degrees of freedom, but nothing like here [the United States],” Schimel said. “If we let this go, it’s gone. And you know what? To get it back, there has to be another bloody revolution. Because the socialists won’t give it up.”

 

The conservative candidate also said socialism is used to consolidate money and power to the hands of the few before he accused the Obamas of being socialists.

“With socialism, there’s a handful of people who have all the money and all the power, and everybody else is screwed,” Schimel said. “These people, the Obama, they know which side of that they’re on.”

Schimel’s campaign did not respond to an email request to clarify or add context to his words from the event.

Schimel is the conservative candidate for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election that will be held on April, 1 to replace retiring liberal Justice Ann Bradley Walsh. He has garnered endorsements from 70 county sheriffs, all six Republican congressmen from in Wisconsin and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), the latter of whom was part of President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021.

On Monday, Schimel said on a press call that he did not object to Trump’s recent pardons, which commuted or granted clemency to hundreds of rioters who were convicted for their actions on Jan. 6. Schimel also indicated that he thinks violent criminals should be prosecuted; however, Trump pardoned several people who committed violent acts against Capitol Police officers.

Schimel’s office at the Waukesha County Circuit Court also did not respond to a request to clarify his position on Trump pardoning violent offenders. On Monday, the Department of Justice removed a database detailing Jan. 6 crimes and convictions and other public records about the event.

Schimel currently serves as a judge for the Waukesha court. From 2015-19, Schimel served as Wisconsin’s attorney general under Gov. Scott Walker (R). As attorney general, Schimel pushed a firm anti-abortion agenda, which cost taxpayers $1.6 million. Schimel also neglected a backlog of 6,000 untested rape kits in Wisconsin, at times lying that there was no backlog.

His liberal opponent Susan Crawford, a Dane County Circuit judge, has collected endorsements from all four sitting liberal Supreme Court justices, the Wisconsin Education Association Council and dozens of appellate and circuit court judges. She has indicated support for reproductive rights, campaign finance reform and strict voter ID laws.