DHS Communications With Local Police (Milwaukee County Sheriff)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Wisconsin Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All emails between any employee from your agency and any Department of Homeland Security email (*dhs.gov), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement email (*ice.gov), Customs and Border Protection email (*cbp.gov), or Department of Justice email (*justice.gov) sent and/or received from 13 July 2020 to 20 July 2020. Please include any attachments from responsive emails additional to the content. If any part of the records are exempt from public disclosure, please exercise your discretion to release any reasonably segregable portions of the records.

If your agency has multi-track processing for {law name} requests, I would like to request expedited processing for this request. Otherwise, please note that this request concerns information that is in the public interest to disclose as soon as possible.

On 15 July 2020, Federal agents in an unmarked car arrested protesters in Portland, Oregon, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf confirmed to National Public Radio. (https://www.npr.org/2020/07/17/892277592/federal-officers-use-unmarked-vehicles-to-grab-protesters-in-portland). While discussing the incident, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News on 19 July 2020 that "you’ll see something rolled out this week, as we start to go in and make sure that the communities—whether it’s Chicago or Portland or Milwaukee or someplace across the heartland of the country—we need to make sure their communities are safe." (https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1284906924740423681?)

Therefore, these records will contribute to public understanding of actual or alleged government activities, and there is an urgency to inform the public about the aforementioned activities.

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am a reporter for the National Interest, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity.

The National Interest is widely recognized for its reporting, publishing regular features on issues of public interest and importance. In addition, I have covered areas related to this request, and plan to use my editorial skills to analyze and produce original reporting work for millions of monthly readers at NationalInterest.org.

If you have any questions about my media status, please contact me.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.

Sincerely,

Matthew Petti

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Wisconsin Open Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

Supervisor Malinda,

Thank you for your response. There must have been a problem with the MuckRock interface. Apologies for any miscommunication. Thanks again for your attention to this matter, and I look forwards to working with you as we move forward with this request.

Best,
Matthew Petti

Supervisor Brendemuehl,

Thank you for your prompt response and attention to this request. Would you be available to talk on the phone some time over the next few days? That might be the best way for us to figure out how we can narrow down this request.

Best,
Matthew

Supervisor Brendemuehl,

Thanks for getting back so quickly! Monday works fine for me. What time do you prefer, and what number is best to reach you at?

Best,
Matthew

Director Brendemuehl,

11am central time on Monday, August 3 works for me. I'll call you then!

Best,
Matthew

Malinda,

No worries. I'll call you tomorrow at exactly this time.

Best,
Matthew

Malinda,

Sorry I forgot to call today! Are you still available? If not, would you be available tomorrow at this time?

Best,
Matthew

Malinda,

Sure thing!

Best,
Matthew

Hello Malinda,

I just called at the number you provided, but no one picked up. Does today still work?

Best,
Matthew

Malinda,
So sorry to hear about your child! Today I was out of a computer due to a power outage. Are you free any time tomorrow?

Best,
Matthew

Hello Malinda,

Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk before. Are you around this week?

Best,
Matthew

That works for me!

Best,
Matthew

To Whom It May Concern:

Please find enclosed a check for $71.24 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.

Thank you.

Malinda,

Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Matthew