(WFRV) – Authorities in Wisconsin say one man is now in custody following recent online threats made to a sheriff’s office and a judge on Saturday.
According to a release from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were made aware of a social media video that was said to be threatening in nature and directed towards the sheriff’s office and a Columbia County Circuit Court Judge.
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The social media profiles responsible for the threats were identified as belonging to 40-year-old Marc A. Geisser from the Town of Caledonia, who deputies had contact with several times as of late, leading to the threats being deemed true and credible.
Based on past interactions with Geisser, deputies attempted to get him to come to the sheriff’s office in person several times with no success. They then began surveillance on Geisser, eventually seeing him leave in a vehicle on Sunday morning around 9:40 a.m.
Officials say Geisser ignored initial attempts to pull him over but eventually brought his vehicle to a stop. When attempting to make a high-risk traffic stop, Geisser drove away from the scene.
He would later pull over again before backing up next to a squad car, creating what deputies called a “very unsafe situation.” A high-risk traffic stop was attempted once again, and Geisser was arrested without any further incident.
After being taken to the Columbia County Jail, deputies executed a search warrant at his home, resulting in a “substantial number” of firearms, ammunition, and other evidence being recovered.
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Geisser remains at the Columbia County Jail where he awaits an initial appearance in court for the following charges:
- Threatening to cause bodily harm to certain individuals involved with a court
- Failure to obey an officer
- Possession of THC
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
While the 1st Amendment protects freedom of speech, true threats of violence directed at specific individuals, especially public officials and judges is not protected speech and is a crime in Wisconsin. Threats of violence directed at anyone will be taken seriously and fully investigated.
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Detective Captain David Clark
No other information is available at this time.
