Public commenter says he has received death threats tied to county controversy

A registrant during public comment at the Dane County joint committee meeting said he has received violent threats and sustained harassment tied to actions by county officials and community members.

Sean Burke, who registered to speak during public comment, told committee chairs that after members of the board and others publicly supported a county contractor, he began receiving threats against his life and online attacks. “There's been attacks by multiple board members on Facebook, accusing me of a lot of things that they have no knowledge of or truth to,” Burke said. He added that he has been called racial slurs and threatened with violence and that the harassment has left him fearing for his safety.

Burke urged board members to address what he described as rhetoric that has placed him and others at risk; he offered to provide documentation and said he would be willing to testify to a special session if the board requested it. Committee chairs did not take action during the meeting; the comment was part of the public-comment period for items not on the agenda.

Ending

Committee chairs closed the registrant portion of the meeting and proceeded to adjourn the committees. No committee action or investigation was announced at the meeting.