The Union Grove and Kite Cases

Two tips. Two arrests by Kenosha County.

The Letter That Started It

Source: Criminal complaint, Kenosha County Case No. 2026CF001581, "Details of Investigation," p. 1

• On October 22, 2026, an anonymous letter sent to the Union Grove School District was addressed to the school board, district officials and the Union Grove Chief of Police.
• The writer said they saw text messages on Johnson's phone "from what I think are other students or current students that are inappropriate. There were some pictures as well."
• The writer said Johnson threatened to get them fired if they ever said anything to anyone. The letter ends: "This man needs to be investigated."

The complaint does not say who from "Administration" had the letter, or who from the Sheriff's Office spoke with Johnson at the school on October 22. H.O.T. Government is filing a records request with the Sheriff's Office and Corporation Counsel on November 9, 2026, asking exactly that. We will publish the answer or the refusal.

The Union Grove Case

Source: Criminal complaint, State v. Thomas W. Johnson, Kenosha County Case No. 2026CF001581, filed November 5, 2026, unless noted.

1. October 22, 2026 An anonymous letter is sent to the Union Grove School District alleging that Union Grove Union High School District Administrator Thomas Johnson exchanged inappropriate messages and pictures with people the writer believed were current or former students.
2. October 22, 2026 Racine County Sheriff's Office "Administration" contacts the Lieutenant of Investigations about investigators available to begin on the letter. The Lieutenant says no investigators are on duty and he will assign someone on October 23, because "no exigency had been articulated in the letter." A copy of the letter is provided. Source: Criminal complaint, "Details of Investigation," p. 1
3. October 22, 2026 According to the complaint, Johnson later told investigators that someone from the Racine County Sheriff's Office visited him at Union Grove High School that day and discussed the investigation.
4. October 23, 2026 Racine County Sheriff's Office investigators interview Johnson at his home. He provides his personal and work phones and consents to a review. A software issue prevents a forensic download. Investigators manually review the phones, describe them as "suspiciously clean," with several social media platforms wiped, deleted or uninstalled, find nothing illegal, and return the phones.
5. October 26, 2026 In a second interview at his office, Johnson tells investigators he spoke with someone at the Sheriff's Office about the investigation before it was formally assigned. He says a school employee told him his phones were clean. Asked how she would know, he suggests someone from the Racine County Sheriff's Office probably called.
6. October 27, 2026 The Racine County Sheriff's Office refers the case to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office, and a Kenosha detective is assigned. The Racine County Sheriff's Office has said it requested Kenosha's involvement because it has a School Resource Officer assigned to the high school, to ensure the integrity of the investigation. Source: Racine County Sheriff's Office statement, as reported by Kenosha County Eye, November 5, 2026
7. October 29, 2026 Kenosha County obtains warrants for Johnson's phones. A forensic examination finds two images the complaint describes as child sexual abuse material.
8. November 4, 2026 Kenosha County executes a search warrant at Johnson's home in Kenosha County and arrests him.
9. November 5, 2026 Johnson is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography. Bond is set at $250,000. The case is assigned to Judge Jodi Meier, Kenosha County Circuit Court Branch 7.

Johnson has not been convicted. The charges are allegations.

The Kite Case

1. 2023 Deputies inform Captain Cary Madrigal of Deputy Preston Kite's conduct, including unsolicited explicit images he sent to colleagues. Source: Sheriff Schmaling's 2025 disciplinary complaint summarizing Attorney Samuel C. Hall Jr.'s findings, released May 2026
2. February 3, 2024 The Racine County Sheriff's Office asks the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department to assist with an investigation into Kite. Kite turns his phone over to investigators, who find child pornography. The Kenosha County District Attorney's Office files charges on February 8, 2024.
3. November 22, 2024 Kite enters pleas to 21 felonies. He is later sentenced to 65 years in prison and 40 years of extended supervision. Source: Racine County Case Nos. 2024CF000164 and 2024CF000247
4. 2025 Outside attorney Samuel C. Hall Jr. investigates Madrigal's handling of the warnings. The findings summarized by the Sheriff state that Madrigal "did not conduct any independent investigation" and that Kite "was not interviewed about anything." Madrigal receives a ten-day unpaid suspension. Source: Sheriff Schmaling's 2025 disciplinary complaint, released May 2026
5. Madrigal's response Madrigal has said she was given only the Sheriff's summary, not Hall's reports, and that she "took the fall" for others. Source: Racine County Eye, August 8, 2026

The District Attorney

• Hanson told Racine County Eye in July 2026 that she would call herself "co-manager of the campaign if I had to give it a title." Source: Racine County Eye, July 2026
• Friends to Elect Tricia Hanson gave $1,000 to Friends to Elect Cary Madrigal on March 7, 2026. Source: Madrigal campaign finance report, cited in a Wisconsin Ethics Commission complaint

The Hall Report

• Attorney Samuel C. Hall Jr. of Crivello Nichols & Hall produced two reports on Madrigal's handling of the Kite warnings. Source: Racine County Eye, August 8, 2026
• May 14, 2026: Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz rejects Madrigal's lawsuit to block release of her disciplinary records. A written order on May 22 dismisses her complaint with prejudice. Source: Racine County Case No. 2026CV000280
• Hall's reports themselves have not been released.

Current Status

• November 3, 2026: Don Vandervest is elected Racine County Sheriff. Source: Unofficial results, Racine County Clerk, as reported by TMJ4
• November 4, 2026: H.O.T. Government asks Sheriff-elect Vandervest in writing for an independent outside review and full records cooperation.
• November 9, 2026: H.O.T. Government files a records request with the Sheriff's Office and Corporation Counsel asking who from the Sheriff's Office spoke with Johnson on October 22.

What We Are Asking For

An independent investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice or an agency with no ties to Racine County into:

1. Sheriff's Office command staff: who discussed the investigation with Johnson on October 22, on whose instruction, and whether anyone from the Sheriff's Office told school staff his phones were clean.
2. District Attorney Patricia Hanson: whether her ties to Captain Madrigal's campaign create a conflict in matters involving the Sheriff's Office, and whether her office will recuse itself from anything touching the Union Grove case.
3. Corporation Counsel: why Attorney Hall's reports have not been released to the public.
4. Whether the same people made the same decisions in the Kite and Johnson cases.