St. Croix GOP refuses to remove ‘prepare for war’ post, sheriff responds

A local Republican group in northwestern Wisconsin is refusing to take down an online message urging conservatives to "prepare for war."

The St. Croix County Republican Party’s website includes a message that reads "if you want peace, prepare for war."

The message goes on to say that President Donald Trump changed the Republican Party and patriots need to continue the fight be counted as conservative warriors.

The state Republican Party has asked the county group to take the message down but the county group has refused.

The county party’s chairman, John Kraft, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the message went up before right-wing extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and he can’t help what inferences Democrats draw from it.

Tuesday, St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson reacted to the comments, saying he was "shocked and disheartened by the tone of the message," and urged citizens to settle differences in a civil manner.