A city administrator and his sister are facing criminal charges in northwestern Wisconsin related to an alleged attempt to record a closed session county board meeting last month.
Ladysmith City Administrator Alan Christianson was arrested this week for allegedly coordinating with his sister, Stephanie Christianson, to record a closed session meeting of the Rusk County Board of Supervisors. That’s according to court documents and a statement from the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office.
Stephanie Christianson was charged with felony intercepting an oral communication on Sept. 4. And on Wednesday, Alan Christianson was charged with the same felony as a party to the crime.
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On Tuesday, the Rusk Sheriff’s Office said the siblings were involved in an attempt to record a closed session meeting of the county board on Aug. 26.
“It makes no difference to me if you are elected or appointed to local office, a member of the general public, or what position or title you hold,” Rusk County Sheriff Phil Grassmann said in a statement. “If you commit or attempt to commit a crime in Rusk County, you will be investigated and arrested if there is probable cause that such a crime was committed.”
The sheriff’s office says the investigation is ongoing and there could be more arrests if charges are warranted.
An attorney representing Stephanie Christianson did not respond to requests for comment. Alan Christianson could not be reached for comment.
On Aug. 29, the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office began investigating an anonymous open records request sent to the county’s IT department for video footage of a lobby area outside the county board room on Aug. 26 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. That’s according to criminal complaints against Stephanie and Alan Christianson.
Law enforcement was asked to investigate because a woman appeared to have used her cell phone to record a closed session meeting, court documents said.
Police reviewed the footage and saw Stephanie Christianson put her ear to the door “attempting to listen or interpret what (was) being said in the closed meeting,” the complaint said.
She was also seen holding her phone near the door and appearing to hold her phone near her ear as if to listen, the complaint said.
After reviewing the footage, law enforcement met with Stephanie Christianson at Marshfield Medical Center Ladysmith. When police confronted her about the footage, she allegedly told them that she was trying to hear what was being said during the meeting and admitted to trying to use her phone to try to enhance the audio.
Facebook messenger conversation links Ladysmith administrator to recording effort
The Rusk County Board went into closed session twice on Aug. 26, according to draft meeting minutes.
It went into closed session shortly before 7:30 p.m. to discuss a personnel investigation and possible disciplinary action. After the first closed session ended, the board voted 13-3 to give the county forest administrator a 10-day suspension without pay starting Sept. 1, according to the draft minutes.
The county board went back into closed session shortly before 8:30 p.m. to discuss the performance of an appointed official and consider “possible dismissal, demotion or discipline if warranted,” according to the draft minutes. The board did not take action after it returned to open session around 10:30 p.m.
Law enforcement reviewed more than 100 messages sent between Stephanie and Alan Christianson over Facebook Messenger from around 8 p.m. that night to almost 11 p.m.
The messages include attempts by Stephanie Christianson to send her brother a video and asking him how to share audio, according to the complaint against Alan Christianson.
At 8:55 p.m., Stephanie Christianson allegedly sent a message that asked, “Can you hear any of them?” Her brother responded: “A little here and there,” according to court documents.
About a minute later, Alan Christianson warned his sister that using Wi-Fi might make her activity more noticeable and suggested switching to a cell network, the complaint said. She replied that she wasn’t on the Wi-Fi.
He also messaged that Stephanie Christianson was probably being watched on camera, to which she responded: “What can they do im outside the door lol.”
At one point, Alan Christianson also messaged, “Should have sent you with the City voice recorder,” according to the complaint.
When Stephanie Christianson told him that her phone battery was dying, her brother allegedly responded, “You’ll just have to take mental notes.”
Alan Christianson was arrested at his home on Monday after police initially went to Ladysmith City Hall, according to the complaint.
Ladysmith Mayor Robert Grotzinger declined to comment.
Alan Christianson is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Sept. 30. According to his LinkedIn profile, he’s been city administrator in Ladysmith since 2020 and served as mayor from 2018 to 2020.
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