Women charged in beating of Wisconsin state senator

Madison, Wis. – Prosecutors charged two Madison women Wednesday with attacking a Wisconsin state senator during a chaotic night of violence outside the state Capitol last month.

Kerida O’Reilly, 33, and Samantha Hamer, 26, were each charged with one count of being a party to substantial battery, a felony punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and three-and-a-half years in prison, online court records show.

Both women were arrested Monday after they turned themselves in to police. They were scheduled to make initial court appearances on Wednesday afternoon. Online court records didn’t list an attorney for either of them.

Investigators believe the women attacked Democrat Tim Carpenter during June 23 protest outside the state Capitol, one of a series of protests in downtown Madison that took place after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

The protest that night was sparked by the arrest of a Black man who shouted at downtown restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. Protesters also toppled two statues outside the Capitol and threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building.

Paramedics treated Carpenter, but he decided against going to the hospital.

O’Reilly is a physical therapist and Hamer is a social worker with the Mount Horeb School District, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Hamer was listed on the district’s website as a resource for high school students and their families who need help dealing with emotional distress and other issues. The district placed Hamer on leave on Monday.