Mandela Barnes scrubs two law enforcement endorsements from website, blaming one on 'clerical error'

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes last week released a list of current and former law enforcement officers who purportedly supported him.

But Barnes' campaign since scrubbed two of those names from its website after one officer said he hadn't endorsed Barnes and another reportedly indicated he wasn't aware his name and occupation were going to be used on an endorsement list. 

La Crosse County Sheriff’s Capt. John Siegel and Racine County Sheriff's Deputy Malik Frazier were among nine people listed on a news release last Thursday touting Barnes' law enforcement endorsements. But neither man was included on an updated list of supporters sent out by the campaign Saturday. 

Siegel on Monday told conservative website Wisconsin Right Now that he never endorsed Barnes and does not plan to endorse anyone.

"I spent most of my day Friday trying to get a hold of people asking how did this happen," said Siegel, who is running as a Democrat for La Crosse County Sheriff. 

"I was not supposed to be on his endorsement list," Siegel added. "I talked with one of his staffers and agreed to talk with them when they were in town sometime, which I’ve done with everybody. They said there was a mistake within the clerical part of things."

Frazier's name was taken off the same endorsement list when the man reportedly said he wasn't aware his name and position was going to be used on it. 

In a phone call with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Racine County Sheriff's Office Lt. Michael Luell said Frazier told his supervisor that while he "may personally support Mandela Barnes, he is not professionally endorsing Mandela Barnes."

"He was unaware that they were going to list his name with his occupation," Luell said. "So, according to Deputy Malik Frazier, listing his name and identifying he was a Racine County Sheriff's deputy was a mistake by the Barnes campaign."

That development was first reported by CBS58.

Maddy McDaniel, a spokeswoman for Barnes, on Tuesday said Siegel's name appeared on the initial release due to "a clerical error from our staff."

"The error has been corrected on our website," McDaniel said. "The Lt. Governor is proud to be endorsed by a coalition of over a dozen members of law enforcement across the state including the Sheriffs of Rock County and Green County."

McDaniel said the campaign removed Frazier "out an abundance of caution" because the man is "a non-elected active duty officer" but did not provide details on how his name was added in the first place.

The campaign for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, with whom Barnes is in a tight race, on Tuesday called the endorsement discrepancies "an attempt to distract." 

 “Mandela Barnes can’t even tell the truth about who is endorsing his campaign — voters shouldn’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth,” said Johnson campaign spokesperson Alec Zimmerman.

Contact Lawrence Andrea at landrea@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.