Minocqua Brewing Company owner charged with harassment of Northwoods newspaper publisher

The owner of Minocqua Brewing Company has been charged with harassment after he held what he called a “political protest” outside the offices of a Northwoods newspaper publisher.

Kirk Bangstad has been embroiled in a yearslong feud with leaders in Minocqua and Oneida County. In April, he lost the conditional use permit that allows him to operate the brewery’s Minocqua location. He nevertheless opened the business for the summer tourism season. State court records show about a dozen tickets related to the permit since mid-May.

Bangstad’s business sells “progressive beer” often themed around Democratic politicians, and he operates a liberal super PAC. He has long held that he is the victim of unfair or unconstitutional treatment as a result of his liberal politics in the largely conservative Northwoods county. 

In part, his conflict with Gregg Walker, publisher of the Lakeland Times newspaper, stems from critical editorial treatment of Bangstad’s 2020 run for state Assembly as a Democrat. Walker’s office is located across the street from the brewing company’s location.

In recent years, as Bangstad has built an online following for his lengthy, pugilistic social media essays, Walker has been a frequent target. In 2023, Bangstad was found liable for defamation in a lawsuit filed by Walker. Among other findings, the jury found Bangstad defamed Walker when Bangstad falsely claimed in an online essay that Walker had left his own brother to die in a hunting accident in order to inherit the family business. The $750,000 judgment was believed to be the largest defamation penalty in state history; Bangstad ultimately paid about $50,000 of his own money in a settlement, while his insurance companies paid $530,000.

In October, Bangstad was charged with criminal defamation after he continued to post online about Walker. In February, Walker sued Bangstad again, alleging Bangstad invaded Walker’s privacy by using Walker’s face on Bangstad’s commercial products. That case is still pending.

In a video posted online Saturday evening, Bangstad said he was giving a “political speech” at a beer tasting Friday when Walker exited the building across the street from Minocqua Brewing Company. Bangstad said shortly after he spoke about how Walker is part of the conservative opposition to him, police arrested him and others who were present at the protest.

“I was held in a small cell for 24 hours,” Bangstad said in the video. “I felt claustrophobic, and my heart was palpitating. It’s like being locked in a closet. You can’t get out.”

In addition to the harassment charge, state records show Bangstad was also charged with disorderly conduct in the incident.