KENOSHA — As Gov. Tony Evers seeks re-election, he is facing criticism for his response to the Kenosha unrest after the Jacob Blake shooting.
PolitiFact Wisconsin looks at a claim made in a conservative political television ad.
Buildings burned, businesses were destroyed and two people were killed during the violent unrest after Jacob Bake was shot by a Kenosha police officer in August of 2021.
"In short, the criticism is that he did too little, too late. Now much of the rhetoric is opinion, which is not really our turf here at PolitiFact," said Greg Borowski with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
But PolitiFact Wisconsin did zero in on one specific claim in the political ad by the conservative super PAC Empower Wisconsin.
"That after the shooting of Jacob Blake, it took the loss of lives before help from Gov. Evers finally came. That's just inaccurate," said Borowski.
PolitiFact Wisconsinlooked at the timeline of events.
On Sunday evening, Jacob Blake was shot. Protests followed that night - some were violent. Neighboring jurisdictions provided up to 100 law enforcement officers to help Kenosha police.
Early Monday morning, the Kenosha County Sheriff requested help from the Wisconsin National Guard. That afternoon, Gov. Evers authorized 125 Wisconsin National Guard troops to go to Kenosha.
On Tuesday, another 125 Guard troops arrived, bringing the total to 250. That night, two protesters were shot and killed and third was injured.
On Wednesday, Gov. Evers doubled National Guard troops to 500 and accepted federal troop assistance from the Trump Administration after declining help the day before.
"An important note is, that's all our fact check is limited to, that timeline," said Borowski.
The timeline showed Gov. Evers sent 250 National Guard troops to Kenosha before the loss of life.
PolitiFact Wisconsin rated the political ad's claim False.
