Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A Shawano County sheriff’s detective is threatening to sue Adam Bieber, who is running for sheriff in the Nov. 4 election, over Facebook messages that followed an incident at a Republican Party picnic.
Bieber, a Shawano police officer, presented his platform at the July 22 picnic and was questioned afterward by three sheriff’s detectives in a way that some witnesses said was harassment.
The incident is being investigated by a private attorney hired by the county’s Administrative Committee. The names of the three detectives have not been released publicly.
Bieber on Tuesday confirmed he was served with a letter this weekend from one of the detectives demanding that Bieber publicly retract Facebook messages in which he gave his account of what happened at the picnic.
The comments were not publicly posted but were made in private Facebook messages that apparently came to the attention of the detective.
The letter accuses Bieber of defamation of character and claims Bieber distorted the picnic incident. It demands Bieber retract his comments on Facebook and publish a retraction in Shawano, Green Bay and Wausau newspapers.
The letter gave Bieber seven days to issue his retractions before a lawsuit is filed.
“I am both surprised and disappointed that I am being threatened with legal action by another law enforcement officer,” Bieber said in an email Tuesday. “I personally feel it is politically motivated and meant to intimidate or keep my story from being told.”
Bieber said if a lawsuit is filed, he will deal with it through the court system.
“I will not allow this to intimidate me, but it does disappoint me,” he said. “It is well known that the actions of some individuals who attended the Republican Party picnic are currently under investigation. and I will respect that process.
“It would not be appropriate for me to comment any further at this time other than to say I did not file a complaint and I did not request an investigation.”
Bieber defeated incumbent Randy Wright in the Aug. 12 Republican primary and is facing Independent challenger Lucas Christenson on the Nov. 4 ballot. Wright is running as a write-in.