(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Department of Administration is facing a new lawsuit over redactions to police reports released by capitol police that include accusations made by state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, against fellow Democrats.
In March, the lawmaker agreed to plea guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and pay a $300 fine after she was charged following a Sept. 2, 2025, phone call where she reportedly threatened another member of the Assembly that she would “tell the press negative personal information” if she was not included in writing a Joint Resolution honoring Latino veterans.
Attorney Tom Kamenick of the Wisconsin Transparency Project filed the lawsuit on behalf of Wisconsin Right Now and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel this week.
"A sitting legislator was criminally convicted based on an investigation that was kept entirely secret until the criminal complaint was filed,” Kemenick said in a statement to Wisconsin Right Now. “The criminal complaint itself was vague and obscured not only who had made the accusations against Ortiz-Velez, but what misconduct Ortiz-Velez had accused the other legislators of committing.
“The records DOA finally released redact the same information. This whole case is a travesty of transparency."
The Milwaukee complaint stated that Ortiz-Velez felt she was intentionally left out of writing a resolution despite the fact that her late husband was a Latino veteran.
The complaint was filed in Milwaukee because both representatives live in Milwaukee and both were in Milwaukee when the phone call occurred.
Ortiz-Velez was accused of making comments to Democratic colleagues that she would use an assault-style firearm against them but the comments were deemed a not credible threat by capitol police.
