Wisconsin Brewery That Celebrated Trump Assassination Attempt Loses Permits Over Tax Dispute
MATT LAMB
JUL 31, 2026 8:00 AM
A self-described “progressive” Wisconsin brewery that appeared to celebrate an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump has lost several permits for not paying taxes.
“Well, we almost got #freebeerday,” Minocqua Brewing Company wrote in April following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting attempt.
“Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle. We’ll never know,” the company wrote. (The FBI and Secret Service subsequently interviewed owner Kirk Bangstad).
Those hideous comments came after a January 22 Facebook post that offered “free beer” on the day when Trump died, although it did not explicitly mention killing the president.
The company, which sells beer honoring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, now has further headaches to deal with.
“The Department of Revenue confirmed July 27 it issued notice of a brewer’s permit revocation for two Minocqua Brewing Co. locations and notice of an Alcohol Beverage Warehouse permit revocation for one of the company’s locations,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Like any good liberal, Bangstad turned into an anti-tax warrior when it came to taxes he was asked to pay.
“The move comes after state officials seized all canned beer from Bangstad’s company in June, alleging the beer was illegally transported from Illinois without securing the proper permits or paying the appropriate taxes,” the newspaper also reported.
Bangstad blamed everyone else for a conspiracy to shut down his business, including Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
What I think is happening is that either the beer distributors in the Republican Tavern League have an “in” at the Department of Revenue and are trying to work us over, or someone in Evers’ office is trying to shut me up.
He also urged followers to donate to his legal fund, saying:
We’re no strangers to fighting against government to simply do business in our town, county, and now the state of Wisconsin. We’ve ultimately won every battle, but fighting in court costs money, and we simply can’t fight without it.
Bangstad will lose his permits as of August 4, but he is allowed to appeal, the Journal Sentinel reported.