Jeremy Ryan
Jeremy Ryan, known as “Segway Boy”, is an American protester. In 2011, he was called "the face of the Wisconsin Capitol Protests" which included the Capitol Occupation, the movement that some claim inspired the Occupy movement. The protests were against Scott Walkers’s Act 10. Ryan became notable during his frequent capitol protests in Madison, Wisconsin. He often used a segway vehicle to get around the capitol, earning him the name, “Segway Jeremy”. Ryan is the founding director of Defending Wisconsin Political Action Committee, that took part in the attempt to recall Governor Scott Walker in 2011/2012. Ryan is most known for his continuous protests against Wisconsin Department of Administration’s rules prohibiting the use of signs in the rotunda. The rules were later revoked. He is also known for his supposed Cannabis activism. in October 2018, Ryan was arrested for attempting to buy radioactive material allegedly to be used to poison an unnamed target. He became the first person to be charged under 18 USC 2332i - Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, a charge that was dismissed February 12, 2020. He pled guilty to the unlawful attempt of purchasing radioactive material and was sentenced to time served.
Personal life
Jeremy Ryan was born in Belleville, Wisconsin. At the age of 17, he graduated from high school and moved to Madison, Wisconsin where he now lives. He is a non-practicing catholic and is self described on Facebook as a "recovering Catholic".In 2009 Ryan started Cells R Us, a wholesaling and consulting firm with operations in India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates with an estimated revenue of two to five million dollars a year. He was also the owner of a window tinting shop called Tint Tek Window Tinting.
Ryan was arrested several times and charged with disorderly conduct for various protests that he claims to have organized and led.
In 2011, he claimed to have organized and led some of the first political mass civil disobedience protests since the Vietnam War. The protests were against Governor Scott Walker’s collective bargaining reforms legislation, as the occupation resulted in no arrests and he led the arrests following.
In 2012, Ryan was charged with receiving stolen property. A stolen Capitol Police jacket was found in his apartment while he was unconscious. He admitted he possessed the jacket and wore it to parties as a joke.
Six of the arrested protesters; Jeremy Ryan, Jenna Pope, Valerie Walasek, Lauri Harty, Anne Hoppe and Kathlee Hoppe filed a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Administration claiming that they were wrongfully arrested and should be paid for damages considering the “emotional distress, loss of liberty and damage to reputation” the arrest caused them. In 2015, they were collectively awarded $45,000 in damages by Dane County's Judge Frank Remington.
Ryan was also charged for disorderly conduct outside of the Capitol Press room, now known as the Dick Wheeler press room. Ryan often taunted Gwen Guenther when she took over her father's “The Wheeler Report”, after his death.
In 2014, he was charged with domestic abuse and stalking of his girlfriend. In lieu of domestic abuse, he was convicted of disorderly conduct and the stalking charge was dismissed.
In 2015, Ryan became an active supporter of the movement “Black Lives Matter” after the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer. He issued statements and personally bankrolled efforts such as paying for provocative and profane yard signs and stickers to protest Tony Robinson’s shooting in Madison.
In November 2016, Ryan was arrested “on three felony counts of manufacturing and delivering marijuana and one felony count of maintaining a drug operation.” He was sentenced to work release and bought a limousine for transport that he called his "Jail Limo."
On October 25th, 2018, Ryan was arrested for "charges for attempting to possess radioactive material with intent to cause death." "Court documents alleged that in March and October, Ryan attempted to purchase a lethal dose of a radioactive substance via the internet to kill an unnamed individual." His attorneys argued that, after learning his cancer was in remission, he was attempting to purchase the substance in order to commit suicide should his cancer return.
On June 24, 2020, Ryan was arrested again and charged with making terrorist threats against Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney and his family. The offending messages were related to protests in Madison.
Education
Ryan attended the Madison Area Technical College and Herzing University, 2009.Election
2012 Election
In 2012 election, Ryan ran for Wisconsin State Assembly District 76 under the “Individual Party”.2014 Election
Despite his several protests against both the GOP policies and elected officials of the party, he ran in the Republican primary against Paul Ryan in the Wisconsin 1st Congressional District House of Representatives election in which Paul Ryan defeated him.According to Jeremy Ryan, he chose to run against Paul Ryan because they shared the same last name. He also declared his intention in taking the party back to its roots.
Before the 2014 election was conducted, State Republican party officials asked for Jeremy Ryan to be disqualified from contesting the primary. They argued that he misled prospective voters into signing his nomination papers thinking they were signing to legalize marijuana.
The accountability board later approved his candidacy stating that the complaint lacked sufficient evidence to kick him off the ballot.
2018 Election
Jeremy Ryan declared to run for 2018 Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District Republican Primary to replace Paul Ryan in the United States House of Representatives. In this race he described himself as a Progressive Republican. His largest issue was legalization of cannabis, which he can be seen smoking in his campaign videos, in some of which he also appears to be drunk.2020 Election
Ryan briefly attempted to run for Congress in the 1st Congressional District Republican Primary in 2020, but did not obtain the necessary signatures to make the ballot.2018 Arrest
In October 2018, Ryan was arrested in Black Earth, Wisconsin, for allegedly attempting to possess radioactive material with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, a charge that was later dismissed.In email messages with a potential seller, an undercover FBI agent, Ryan described a target who was 6-foot-tall, male, and weighing 200 pounds. In the emails, he allegedly asked how long it would take the material to kill someone after ingested.“I’m looking for something that’s very rare/difficult to get a hold of. Also that doesn’t show symptoms immediately but kills them fairly soon after,” the message said. He also said he wanted the material to be “extremely difficult” to get so people would automatically suspect the government.
On October 15, Ryan was given a package tracking number. FBI surveillance personnel later saw him go into an UPS store to pick up the package.
At his initial appearance in federal court on October 25, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker ordered Ryan to remain in jail until the detention and probable cause hearing on October 29. On October 29, federal public defender Joseph Bugni stated that his client intended to use the substance to kill himself in case his cancer went out of remission. It was ruled that Ryan would remain jailed as he was a flight risk and a risk to the community. On February 12, 2020, he was released from jail with a time served sentence. As part of the plea deal, he pled guilty to the unlawful attempt to possess radioactive materials. The charge of terrorism was dismissed.