Police chief uses porn sites to get revenge on tea party activist
MILWAUKEE — A police chief in a western Wisconsin town created accounts on pornographic and dating websites under the name of a local tea party advocate to even a score with him, court records say.
Town of Campbell Police Chief Timothy Kelemen set up accounts under Gregory Luce's name after he and fellow tea party members allegedly harassed Kelemen's department. It had banned their protest signs on overpasses, federal court papers say.
According to a police report, Kelemen retaliated by using Luce's personal information to create identities on dating websites, pornography websites featuring homosexual men and healthcare.gov.
"I'm like, all right, buddy, you cause us a hassle, we're going to cause you a hassle," Kelemen said in a video clip posted on the La Crosse Tea Party website. It shows investigators interviewing him in May. Campbell is next to La Crosse.
"I'm not denying I did it … I didn't think it was that big of a deal," he added.
Kelemen was placed on administrative leave on June 12. Attorneys for Kelemen and Luce could not be reached for comment.
The rift started in August when Luce and tea party members began holding protests on a pedestrian bridge over I-90, where they hung banners on the fencing, a court document showed.
During a September town board meeting, Kelemen said the signs created a distraction for motorists. On Oct. 8, board members approved an ordinance banning signs on overpasses.
On Oct. 24, police told tea party members wearing T-shirts that spelled out "Impeach Obama" to get off the overpass. Three days later, a tea party member was cited for waving an American Flag on the overpass.
Kelemen told investigators that the tea party group took revenge by orchestrating a phone campaign, resulting in his department receiving 300 to 400 calls a day. He also said Luce hacked into the department's computers and officers received death threats.