Wisconsin Court Tosses Convictions Against Open Carry Advocate

By Jenn Jacques

A Wisconsin appellate court tossed out the loitering conviction against a man who was cited during a stroll he took in 2013, which happened to be near a school while carrying an AR-15 on his shoulder and a gun on his hip.

“We are pleased the Court of Appeals recognized that merely carrying a firearm, with nothing more, cannot constitute an offense in Wisconsin,” said John Monroe, who represented Mark Hoffman.

Hoffman was questioned by Village of Somerset police officers after they received calls from people in the area who were alarmed by Hoffman’s choice to open carry. Police cited him for loitering and piled on an additional charge of obstructing an officer when Hoffman declined to identify himself or what he was doing. They also confiscated his gun; which Hoffman was forced to take separate court action to have returned, eventually getting it back months later.

Hoffman found representation through the gun rights group Wisconsin Carry, Inc.,

A municipal judge threw out the obstructing charge but found that police had reasonable suspicion to stop Hoffman and question him.

Hoffman appealed to circuit court. His motion to dismiss at the end of the state’s case was dismissed, and a jury found …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms