Report: McConnell, Whitmer and Evers said to be in Wisconsin gunman’s hit list

The names of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers appeared on a hit list kept by a man accused of fatally shooting a retired Wisconsin judge, authorities and local media said on Saturday.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, citing sources, first reported that former County Judge John Roemer, 68, was fatally shot Friday morning at his home in the Township of New Lisbon.

Law enforcement responded to a home in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, Friday morning after a 911 caller reported there was an armed person in the residence who had fired two shots, according to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. The caller had exited the home and contacted law enforcement from a nearby home.

The Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team responded and attempted to negotiate with the alleged shooter before entering the home. 

When SWAT entered the home, they found Roemer zip-tied to a chair and fatally shot, according to the law enforcement official. In the basement they found a 56-year-old man suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Kaul said.

The suspect, who was later identified as Douglas Uhde, was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition, Kaul said. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

“This does appear to be a targeted act,” Kaul told reporters Friday. “The individual who is the suspect appears to have had other targets as well. It appears to be related to the judicial system.”

Kaul did not provide further details Friday on the man killed and the other targets, beyond that they appear to be targeted “based on some sort of court case or court cases.” The Wisconsin Department of Justice said in an update Saturday that the victim was retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer.

Wisconsin court records show that Roemer was involved in Uhde’s sentencing for a 2002 criminal conviction. In 2005, he sentenced Uhde to six years in state prison and nine years extended supervision for armed burglary, a felony, with concurrent sentences for three lesser counts. Uhde had pleaded no contest to the charges.