Overview
- Ryan Thornton, 37, made an initial appearance in Dane County, where cash bail was set at $85,000 and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 28.
- The criminal complaint says Karofsky received nine emails from August to early October, including messages telling her to “eject” herself from office and asking for her home address.
- OLR reported about 15 emails and dozens of calls from Thornton between Aug. 2 and Oct. 1, including a day with more than 70 calls in which staff were verbally threatened.
- Karofsky told investigators the messages frightened her, leading her to request police escorts at public events and to closely monitor home security alerts.
- Investigators say Thornton referenced a conspiracy, told them to “call Trump,” and said Karofsky was “going down”; the felony stalking charge carries up to 3.5 years in prison if convicted.