MBC Legal Defense Fund

Help the Minocqua Brewing Company Defend Itself from Gregg Walker and the Lakeland Times, Oneida County, and the Town of Minocqua.

Gregg Walker, publisher of the right wing Lakeland Times, filed a defamation lawsuit against us in May, 2021.

Every legal expert we spoke with at the time agreed that this lawsuit had no merit, would be un-winnable, and thus fell into the category of SLAPP, or “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation,” which is an “all-too-common tool for intimidating and silencing criticism through expensive, baseless legal proceedings.

Unfortunately, we lost this case and the jury awarded Gregg Walker $750K in damages because a judge ruled that Walker, owner and contributor to the only 2 newspapers in the Oneida County, was not a public figure.

We believe the judge was wrong, and his error created terrible legal precedent for the state of Wisconsin.

In addition to this lawsuit, Oneida County recently filed a lawsuit against us by creating 110 code violations out of thin air that amount to ~$27.5K in fines. This is an attempt to bankrupt my company and shut down our progressive activism Up North.

Finally, the Town of Minocqua is trying to shut us down by withholding an easement needed to legally open our beer garden, which is necessary for the Minocqua Brewing Company to be profitable. We have sued them in Federal Court for harassment.

If you despise bullying as much as we do, and don’t think local government and the judicial system should be used as a weapon against those with loud progressive beliefs, please donate to help us keep fighting our many legal battles