Milwaukee County DA email threats; Chisholm unaware due to 'junk' filter

MILWAUKEE - A federal investigation is uncovering threats against Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.

The story starts in Washington, D.C. U.S. Capitol police began investigating emails sent to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's office. They discovered some of those emails also went to Chisholm. The messages contained expletives, slurs and threats to Chisholm, his family and police.  

Threats "filtered out"

It turns out, Chisholm was being threatened and did not know it. Court filings say the emails go back to 2022 but were flagged as junk and filtered out. When Capitol police reached out in May 2024, the D.A.'s office removed that filter. They found more than 3,500 emails over a month-and-a-half. That is an average of 78 a day.

Prosecutors say the man behind the keyboard was 31-year-old Brady Hammerer. He was just charged with 11 counts of threatening a prosecutor. 

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Prosecutors charged Hammerer this past spring with misdemeanor domestic abuse and disorderly conduct. A relative contacted police worried that Hammerer would kill someone, including police. 

Hammerer's home searched

Last week, investigators searched Hammerer's home near 60th and Adler in Milwaukee. They found a Glock, two shotguns, an AR-style rifle, .30-06 rifle, ammunition, sword, knives, a vest and flex cuffs. 

The relative said Hammerer talked about politics, the "system" and "especially the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office." 

On Monday, July 1, a judge ordered Hammerer to undergo a competency examination. 

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FOX6 News reached out to Chisholm's office as well as Ted Cruz's. We have not received a response. 

A hearing on a doctor's report for Hammerer is set for late July.