Waukesha Times

Wisconsin State Representative Scott Fitzgerald said that crime has not decreased under Vice President Kamala Harris' "soft-on-crime policies" and criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) for what he described as a lack of accountability. Fitzgerald made these remarks in an October 17 post on X.

"Anyone who's been in a major U.S. city knows crime is NOT down under Kamala Harris' soft-on-crime policies," said U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wi). "Between the FBI hiding these numbers & DOJ not issuing the pretrial release report due 132 days ago under my bill (now law), it is clear accountability is severely lacking."

According to Fox News, the FBI revised its 2022 crime data to reflect a rise in violent crimes, contrary to earlier reports that indicated a decrease. These earlier reports had been celebrated by the Biden-Harris administration. The media reportedly presented crime data favorably for Democrats and did not correct the record despite the FBI's acknowledgment of inaccuracies.

Rep. Fitzgerald's post | X

The updated figures show an increase of 80,029 violent crimes in 2022 compared to the previous year. This includes 1,699 additional murders, 7,780 rapes, 33,459 robberies, and 37,091 aggravated assaults. Initially, data showing a 2.1% decrease in violent crime was praised as a significant improvement following the crime surge associated with the 2020 protests and the pandemic.

RealClearInvestigations reported that the FBI initially claimed a 2.1% decline in the nation's violent crime rate for 2022, which became a Democratic talking point. However, later revisions revealed that violent crime actually increased by 4.5%.

Fitzgerald represents Wisconsin’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives after serving in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1995 to 2021. During his tenure there, he held leadership roles such as Majority Leader and Minority Leader. He completed his education at Hustisford High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Fitzgerald also served in the US Army Reserve for 27 years, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring.