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New Glarus man threatens, rages at many
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Johnson
MONROE - Hours of raging, threats and abuse ended with a New Glarus man passed out in a jail cell and charged with eight misdemeanor offenses - only to be back at it days later, according to criminal complaints filed this week in Green County Circuit Court.

Robert Larry Johnson, 47, was charged Tuesday with four counts of disorderly conduct, two counts of criminal damage to property, one count of battery and one count of resisting or obstructing an officer.

The charges stem from a series of incidents over a period of about 12 hours last Friday at a home in New Glarus, at Monroe Clinic in Monroe and inside a moving vehicle.

According to a police investigation, Johnson was upset with a woman he knows over money. He threatened to kill the woman and "burn down the house with the kids in it," flung open a door so forcefully it bent the knob and yanked the woman's hair while she gave him a ride to Rockford.

Later, back in New Glarus at her home, police say he grabbed a goldfish and a guppy out of their tanks and threw them on the kitchen floor, squishing the guppy to death with his foot.

An officer's report of the arrest describes Johnson's extensive threats, name-calling, racial slurs and ranting against anyone he came near, including staff at Monroe Clinic, where the officer took Johnson to be medically cleared for jail due to his intoxication.

Johnson threatened that after he got out of jail, "it will be an all-out holy war." He said he would slash the woman's tires and "bash down doors," adding that he is almost 48 years old and "doesn't have a reason to change."

The officer noted Johnson has a history of violence and tried to calm him down by starting a conversation about their mutual interest in '80s heavy metal band Megadeth, but Johnson continued to be hostile.

At the jail, however, Johnson became cooperative. Once in his cell, he "laid down and immediately went to sleep."

On Tuesday, he posted a $500 cash bond and signed a $4,500 signature bond, with the conditions that he have no contact with the victims and not possess or consume intoxicants or go into bars or liquor stores.

By Tuesday evening Johnson was already in trouble with the law again.

Employees at the Farm and Fleet store in Monroe called police at 7:28 p.m. to request a welfare check on an intoxicated man on store property, later identified as Johnson, who "appeared to have nowhere to go tonight."

Johnson had been drinking whiskey and was yelling obscenities, according to a responding officer's report. Police arrested Johnson outside the Farm and Fleet on charges of disorderly conduct and bail jumping and took him to Monroe Clinic for medical clearance.

On the ride to Monroe Clinic, Johnson threatened to assault the entire ER staff and "fight everyone out at the jail," the officer reported.

While at the ER, "without any prompting by officers, Robert was bragging about his status with the Aryan Brotherhood," the report states. He made comments in support of "white power" and threatened to "beat" any black people in his jail cell.

On Wednesday, Judge Thomas Vale set Johnson's cash bond on the new charges at $1,000, with the added condition that he have no contact with the Farm and Fleet.

Johnson is back in court Friday for an adjourned initial appearance. State court records show he has a long history of criminal convictions, including disorderly conduct and at least seven offenses of driving while intoxicated.