'Free Beer, All Day Long, The Day He Dies': Outrage As Wisconsin Brewery Offers Free Beer To Celebrate Trump's Death

Hours after reports of a gunman opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, forcing the evacuation of President Donald Trump and the First Lady, a brewery in northern Wisconsin took to Facebook to express what it called disappointment that the attack had failed.

Minocqua Brewing Company is not a typical small-town taproom. Its owner, Kirk Bangstad, ran as the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin's 34th Assembly District in 2020, losing to Republican incumbent Rob Swearingen. He founded a SuperPAC under the brewery's name that has raised millions to unseat Republican officeholders and previously filed a lawsuit to remove Trump from the state's 2024 ballot.

The business openly markets itself as a 'progressive' brand, selling products called 'WOKE Coffee' and beer named after Democratic politicians, with a cut of proceeds going to liberal causes, Fox News wrote.

On Saturday, the company's Facebook account posted: 'Well, we almost got #freebeerday. Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship, or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle. We'll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens.'

The post referred to the incident at the Washington Hilton, where a suspect identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, rushed a security checkpoint carrying firearms. Allen was arrested. Trump and Melania Trump were evacuated unharmed.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen appeared to have been targeting administration officials at the event.

Bangstad Monetised 'Free Beer Day' Concept for Months

The messaging was not new. The brewery has been running what it calls 'Free Beer Day' for months.

The original post, dated 23 January on the brewery's Facebook page, read: 'Free beer, all day long, the day he dies. Show us this post when it happens in a few months, and we'll make good on that promise.' An update added that the offer applied to the Madison taproom, which is open year-round, unless the death fell in summer, in which case it would shift to the Minocqua location. The post attracted 13,800 likes, 2,700 comments, and 729 shares.

Bangstad previously told Fox News he would welcome anyone to celebrate the 'impending death of a twice-impeached convicted felon.' His one condition: 'No red hats allowed.'

The company turned the slogan into retail. Its online store carries T-shirts reading 'I Wish It Was Free Beer Day at Minocqua Brewing Company,' printed with a red necktie referencing the president. What began as a social media provocation became a commercial product.

Bangstad's combative streak extends beyond politics. Wisconsin Public Radio reported last year that he was charged in a harassment case connected to a dispute with a local newspaper publisher. He entered a no-contest plea to a disorderly conduct charge and was found guilty earlier this month.

Both Parties Move to Distance Themselves From the Brewery

The fallout was swift, and it did not break cleanly along party lines. Democrats moved to condemn the post before Republicans could frame it as representative of the party's base. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party called the rhetoric 'completely unacceptable' and demanded it be retracted immediately, Newsweek reported.

Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin state representative and a leading Democratic candidate for governor, had denounced political violence broadly on X after the shooting. Her campaign then addressed the brewery by name. 'The post from Minocqua Brewing Company is wrong,' communications director Allison Geyer told Newsweek. 'Joking about a sitting president's assassination - or anyone's - is wrong.' She said Bangstad's words were 'exactly what she meant by Americans getting numb to political violence.'

Rebecca Cooke, a Democrat challenging Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, told Fox News the rhetoric was 'dangerous and unacceptable.'

Republicans moved to tie Bangstad to the broader party. Trump-backed House candidate Michael Alfonso wrote on X that Bangstad was 'not just some random crazy guy' but someone with personal ties to Hong and Cooke. RNC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar told Fox News: 'Wisconsin Democrats are so sick in the head that an attempted murder is funny to them.'

When Newsweek reached out to the brewery for comment, the company did not address the backlash. It instead criticised media coverage of the event.

Saturday's shooting was the third known attempt on Trump's life. A gunman struck his ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July 2024. A second suspect was apprehended near his West Palm Beach golf course two months later.