A Wisconsin county executive committee voted to move forward with plans to rename a county road to “Charlie J. Kirk Way” in a meeting that devolved into yelling between the board and county residents opposed to the plan.
The plans would rename parts of County Trunk Highway K in Washington County to honor the late Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September 2025. The county executive committee voted to advance the plans to a full board vote but did not recommend approval due to public opposition, according to Fox6 News Milwaukee.
Videos of the meeting show protesters who were against the renaming of the highway gathered with homemade signs, shouting to interrupt the committee’s deliberation. Committee members can be heard saying, “If we have more outbursts, we will clear the room.”
“One more time, and out you go,” committee member Denis Kelling yelled. “I ain’t screwing around.”
Protesters gave varying reasons for their opposition, with some saying the renaming would be too costly and others opposing Kirk’s politics. Signs in the crowd varied from ones that simply read “No” to others that read “Racist Road” and “Bigot Blvd,” according to local news videos.
The county located outside of Milwaukee is Republican leaning, with 67.6% of its votes in 2024 going to President Donald Trump and 31.3% going to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
JOE KENT SAYS HE WAS TOLD ‘YOU NEED TO STOP’ INVESTIGATING CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION
The contentious meeting comes as several government bodies take steps to honor the late conservative activist. In Washington, the Education Department recently hung a banner of Kirk as part of its “Heroes in American Education” series.
Washington County’s full executive board will take up the vote in a coming meeting. Its next meeting will take place in April.
