Capitol police investigate convicted felon over potential stalking behavior targeting Elections Commission head Meagan Wolfe
MADISON - The Wisconsin Capitol Police are investigating a convicted felon focused on the 2020 election over possible stalking behavior toward the leader of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Peter Bernegger, a New London man and 2020 election denier, was served last month with a warning letter from the Wisconsin Capitol Police notifying him his behavior toward Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe and commission staff "could be interpreted as 'stalking'" under state law.
Bernegger once claimed without evidence that a "sect" of Milwaukee officials illegally printed ballots for Joe Biden in 2020 and has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against state and local election officials in recent years.
"Stalking can be described as intentionally engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person or persons that would cause a reasonable person under the same circumstances to suffer serious emotions distress such as feeling harassed, tormented or intimidated," the July 7 letter from Wisconsin Capitol Police Chief David Erwin wrote. The letter was served by a Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation agent.
"Your behavior has induced such distress in Meagan Wolfe and others at the Wisconsin Elections Commission," Erwin wrote. "The Wisconsin State Capitol Police take this law very seriously."
Bernegger did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
Bernegger, who was sent to federal prison after he was convicted of mail fraud and bank fraud in 2009, got support from some Wisconsin Republicans in the aftermath of the 2020 election as he launched an investigation into voting practices while former President Donald Trump promoted false claims of widespread voter fraud.
He received the warning letter as he sought to compel Wolfe to testify in a lawsuit he filed against the commission. Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a motion to protect Wolfe from having to testify, in part because of Bernegger's behavior.
"The Commission also filed evidence showing that Bernegger has previously engaged in personal attacks against Ms. Wolfe. The Commission argues that a deposition of Ms. Wolfe by Bernegger would likely lead to more," Kaul wrote.
In May, Wolfe forwarded to commissioners an email she received from Bernegger with the subject line "cease, desist and provide a written apology for defaming me, defaming my company."
In the email, Bernegger included Wolfe's home address and said "you slandered me and my reputation by telling other parties, including the Wisconsin Department of Justice, including WEC Commissioners, including WEC staff, I was going to come in with guns and shoot up the place, which means the WEC office. You also stated to those people, entities, and others, I was going to cause violence at the WEC offices and/or against you. These are 100% false statements, and delusional claims you made up."
"You are a pathological liar," he said.
"Sending for your awareness. As you may imagine, this makes me feel incredibly unsafe and uncomfortable," Wolfe told commissioners. At one point, the Wisconsin Elections Commission fined Bernegger more than $2,000 for filing frivolous complaints. Bernegger spent two hours in February 2022 presenting his voting claims to an Assembly committee.
Around the time Bernegger made his public accusations, he also asked the Elections Commission to privately consider a raft of allegations of voting improprieties.
In a series of unanimous votes, the commission determined Bernegger had made thousands of frivolous claims, according to documents released under the state's open records law.
A majority on the commission in 2022 ordered Bernegger to pay $2,403 — $1 for each claim that it considered meritless, the records show.
Molly Beck can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 2020 Election denier warned against possible stalking of Meagan Wolfe