MONROE — Two Monroe residents face felony charges of inciting violence in downtown Freeport during civil unrest after the police killing of George Floyd.
Jennifer Marie Foster, 34, previously known as Jennifer Marie Nickel, and Tesla Nicole Paul, 26, were arrested at their residence in the 1500 block of 21st Street at 2:20 p.m. Oct. 21, then jailed.
The Freeport Police Department issued warrants for Foster and Paul after a grand jury returned indictments on them for an incident that occurred May 31.
“Both are charged with mob action, in that they incited violence against a business owner, which led to a bottle being thrown at the business,” said Travis Davis, Freeport police chief deputy.
The bottle broke a window at Deininger Floral Shop, 1 W. Main St., but no one was hurt, Davis said. Neither woman threw the bottle, he said.
It happened during what Davis described as “civil unrest.”
“It wasn’t an organized event by any certain group or groups. There was nothing scheduled,” he said.
Earlier that day, hundreds marched in downtown Freeport and called for justice for the May 25 death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man in Minneapolis. Floyd died in custody while an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The officer has since been charged with murder and manslaughter and is out on a $1 million bond.
Later on, Freeport police fired rubber bullets into a crowd outside the courthouse as violence broke out. Police also fired tear gas to disperse people that night, according to news reports.
Jerry Dahlen, Monroe police captain, said his officers arrested Foster and Paul after receiving notification of the warrants from the Freeport Police Department. He said officers also received a tip that Foster and Paul had recently been seen in Monroe.
No comparable charge in Wisconsin
The day after their arrest, Foster and Paul appeared before Green County Judge Thomas Vale for extradition hearings.
Foster told the judge Paul is her best friend and they were jailed in Stephenson County for 10 days following the May 31 incident. She said they were released from jail confused and without any clear charging information.
“We were never sent any papers, or anything,” she said, choking back tears. Then, “we just all the sudden had a warrant out for us.”
Assistant State Public Defender Guy Taylor asked that Foster and Paul be released on signature bonds instead of cash bonds.
He argued that neither is a flight risk. Both women are employed and have small children — Foster has a 2-year-old, and Paul’s children are ages 2 and 4 — in addition to extended family in the Monroe area. Foster has one misdemeanor on her record from five years ago. Paul has no criminal record.
He also requested governor’s warrants for each defendant from the State of Wisconsin. The governor’s office can issue a warrant giving Illinois permission to come to Wisconsin to get the defendants, or not.
Wisconsin has no comparable felony charge to “mob action,” Taylor said, which could be a reason for the governor’s office to decline issuing a warrant.
Judge Vale set $5,000 signature bonds in each case, noting that neither defendant appeared to be a flight risk.
He also said, “I don’t know what mob action is.”
Bond conditions in the cases stipulate no travel outside Wisconsin except if traveling to Stephenson County to resolve the criminal charges. Review hearings in the extradition cases are set for Nov. 20.