A Wisconsin state representative has admitted guilt to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges following a contentious dispute with Democratic colleagues over Hispanic heritage resolutions.
State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, a Milwaukee Democrat, entered her guilty plea on Friday in Milwaukee County court, according to online records. Judge Paul Malloy sentenced her to pay $300 in fines and provide a DNA sample. The charge could have resulted in up to 90 days behind bars.
Following her sentencing, Ortiz-Velez released a statement saying she would pay the penalty and continue concentrating on constituent services rather than party disputes.
“My voting choices caused a rift that has been ugly and bitter,” she said. “My constituents did not send me to Madison to litigate internal caucus disputes or be distracted by the personal feuds — they sent me there to deliver results.”
Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Greta Neubauer’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The criminal complaint reveals the conflict originated in August when Assembly Democrats were developing resolutions to celebrate Hispanic heritage and honor Hispanic veterans for September’s Hispanic Heritage Month observance.
Ortiz-Velez became upset, believing an unidentified colleague deliberately kept her out of the heritage resolution drafting process.
Court documents indicate she had received an invitation to participate in June but declined, though she later wanted involvement in writing the language. She reached out to news organizations claiming intentional exclusion from the resolution work. She also expressed frustration to the resolution’s author about being left out of a separate measure honoring Hispanic veterans, noting her deceased husband’s status as a Hispanic veteran.
Two additional unnamed legislators informed investigators that Ortiz-Velez threatened during separate phone calls to release “negative personal information” about the resolution author to media outlets and stated “they are going to do what I want them to do, or I’m going to x, y and z,” the complaint states.
When pressed for clarification, she made remarks about the resolution author’s private life and other legislators. The complaint described these comments as “indecent and tended to disrupt the good public order” without providing additional details.
Democratic leadership released a September statement claiming Ortiz-Velez had made comments about shooting three caucus members. This came one day after announcing her departure from the Democratic caucus.
In conversations with Wisconsin Right Now and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ortiz-Velez rejected claims she threatened colleagues. However, the Legislature’s human resources department temporarily prohibited her Capitol access for one day. A representative for Assembly Republican Speaker Robin Vos stated she should not have faced the ban.
Ortiz-Velez’s legal counsel, Michael Cernin, explained in a Friday phone interview that Assembly Democrats were already frustrated with his client before September due to her support for the 2025-27 state budget and new legislative maps created by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2024. Democrats opposed the spending plan partly because they believed it inadequately funded public education and argued the state Supreme Court should have created the new legislative boundaries.
According to Cernin, Rep. Priscilla Prado, another Milwaukee Democrat, prevented Ortiz-Velez from participating in the Hispanic resolutions. Two unnamed lawmakers in the complaint alleged to investigators that Ortiz-Velez threatened to reveal unfavorable aspects of Prado’s personal life to media outlets.
“It’s incredibly petty, and Sylvia didn’t want any part of this,” Cernin said. “Sylvia truly wanted to spare Prado any sort of embarrassment on this.”
Prado’s Capitol office did not respond to Friday afternoon requests for comment.
