Free Beer CHALLENGE BACKFIRES –FBI NOT Amused

A Wisconsin brewery owner who promised free beer when President Trump dies just had state agents walk out with $25,000 worth of his product — and that’s only the latest chapter in a long, wild story.

Story Highlights

Wisconsin Department of Revenue agents seized about $25,000 worth of canned beer from Minocqua Brewing Company’s two taprooms in June 2026.
Owner Kirk Bangstad previously drew Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attention after posting about a “Free Beer Day” tied to an assassination attempt on President Trump.
Bangstad has a long history of run-ins with law enforcement, including arrests, a criminal defamation charge, and a harassment charge.
The brewery filed a lawsuit claiming the beer seizure was illegal and politically motivated retaliation.

State Agents Seize $25,000 in Beer

Wisconsin Department of Revenue agents raided Minocqua Brewing Company’s taprooms in Minocqua and Madison in June 2026. They walked out with every can of beer on the premises. State officials said the beer was illegally held or sold, making the seizure a lawful enforcement action. The total value of the seized inventory came to roughly $25,000.^[2]

The taprooms were allowed to stay open after the seizure, but the damage to the business was real. Owner Kirk Bangstad did not stay quiet. He went public immediately, calling the seizure illegal and announcing that the brewery had filed a lawsuit against the state. His Substack post said agents “illegally seized $25K worth of beer” from both locations.^[7] The exact legal paperwork behind the state’s action has not been made public, so both sides have been able to push their own version of events.

FBI & Secret Service Take Down Radical Leftist Kirk Bangstad, Owner of Minocqua Brewing Company, in Fierce Interrogation Over Sick Anti-Trump Assassination Post As Wisconsin Authorities Raid His Brewery and Seize Thousands in Illegal Beer, Delivering Justice to Out-of-Control… pic.twitter.com/5MXvgOjxNS

— mandala (@mandala_mandy) June 12, 2026

The FBI Came Calling First

The beer raid was not Bangstad’s first brush with federal or state authorities. After the 2024 assassination attempt on then-candidate Trump, Bangstad posted on social media promising a “Free Beer Day” when Trump died. The FBI said it was aware of the post and questioned Bangstad about it.^[1] The Secret Service was also reported to be involved in looking into the matter.^[5] No federal charges were filed publicly over that post, but the scrutiny put Bangstad and his brewery on the national radar.

Bangstad built his brewery around left-wing politics from the start. The company’s own website says it began making what it calls “progressive beer” after blaming Trump for COVID-19 policies that hurt his original brewpub.^[6] He has leaned into controversy as a business and fundraising strategy, regularly framing his legal troubles as political persecution.

A Pattern of Trouble Beyond Politics

The beer seizure fits into a much longer pattern of legal problems for Bangstad. He was charged with harassment after holding what he called a “political protest” outside a Northwoods newspaper’s offices.^[8] He was also arrested by the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department on a criminal defamation charge — a rare charge that drew national attention and donations to his brewery from supporters who saw it as government overreach.^[9] Bangstad himself called that arrest proof that “fascism has arrived” in northern Wisconsin.

In a separate incident, police responded to a dispute between Bangstad, a neighboring business, and his own customers. Reports say Bangstad and several customers were arrested during that confrontation.^[10] Wisconsin Public Radio noted that courting controversy has become a recurring pattern for him, one that also drives donations and media coverage his way.^[13] Whether the state’s beer seizure holds up legally remains to be seen, but Bangstad’s track record shows a man who consistently turns his run-ins with the law into fundraising moments — and the courts will ultimately decide who was right this time.