Dear District Attorney John Chisholm and other officials,

On March 6th, 2016; there was a racially motivated triple homicide that occurred on the southwest side of Milwaukee. The accused murderer, Dan Popp, kidnapped two children and killed three victims; Mr. Jesus Manso-Perez, Mr. Phia Vue, and Mrs. Mai Vue, after expressing his hatred against non-English speakers and Puerto Ricans. As members of this American community, we do not accept hatred and intolerance. This tragic triple homicide is a chilling echo of the recent 2014 assault on Mr. Sao Lue Vang in Pepin County, WI; the 2012 Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, WI; the 2011 assault and mutilation of Mr. Neng Yang in Oklahoma; the 2007 murder and bodily mutilation of Mr. Cha Vang in Peshtigo, WI; the 1982 murder of Mr. Vincent Chin in Michigan; and the 1955 murder of Mr. Emmet Till in Mississippi. In this state of Wisconsin and the nation, there is a long standing unjust precedent of allowing people to brutally assault or murder people of color, (especially Hmong Americans), out of hatred with no major consequences. It was only a matter of time until this racially motivated type of violent hate crime affected our community in Milwaukee.

As the District Attorney, you have the power and authority to be the first person in American history to prosecute this triple homicide case as a hate crime against Hmong American victims and a Latino American victim. Wisconsin has a growing trend of fatal violence against Hmong Americans and intolerance against non-English speakers, especially Latinos. How many more tragedies and lives must be lost before the government realizes that we have a real issue of racism on our hands? We hope that the spirit of justice will move you to make the righteous decision of sending a strong message against hate crimes and protecting future innocent lives.

We demand the following from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, the appropriate law enforcement agencies, the State Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the following concerns that we have:

BAIL AMOUNT

We are concerned by the low bail of $150,000 set by the court considering the terrorizing nature of the crime that claimed three innocent lives and traumatized the children for life. Witnessing such horrific experience and watching their parents got shot and died in front of them. Words cannot speak volume of the pains and suffering these children have to go through for the rest of their lives. Less offensive crimes received much higher bails than the bail set for this triple homicide. In the recent Dylan Yang stabbing case in Wausau, WI, his bail was set for $1 million. Yang only took away one person's life while defending himself, not three lives. We demand that the bail must be set for $3 million for Mr. Dan Popp for the three lives. If the bail for him is not set for $3 million, then we demand a valid answer for these differences.

We respect the due process and the right of the accused, Mr. Popp, but the safety of the surviving children, their families, and the community should take precedent. We demand that you intervene the judicial process and bail amount in a manner that suits the crime committed. In preserving the integrity, trust, and respect for our judicial system, law enforcement, and elected leaders of our government and non-government from local to the federal level, we demand that a thorough and full transparency investigation takes place to bring justice for the victims who were their loved ones.

CHARGES

The current charges are one first degree murder for each life Mr. Popp took. There is enough evidence for additional charges and re-classification of the crimes. We demand further investigation for more charges for the following reasons:

KIDNAPPING

Mr. Popp dragged Mrs. Mai Vue and her two children from the first floor to his apartment on the second. This was clearly an act of kidnapping. Currently, Mr. Popp is not being charged for this traumatizing act. We demand that Mr. Popp gets additional charges for kidnapping Mai and her two kids to his room.

TORTURE

One of the shots that killed Mrs. Mai Vue, was inflicted on the lower portion of her body. This indicates that there is a high chance that Mr. Popp had abused and tortured Mrs. Mai Vue. We demand a thorough investigation into this.

RAPE

Mr. Popp kidnapped Mai to his apartment. There is a high possibility that Mrs. Mai Vue was forcibly raped before being tortured and murdered. We demand that this be investigated for sexual assault and rape.

ACT OF HATE

It was clear in Mr. Dan Popp’s statement, “That’s why you don’t speak English…You guys got to go,” that he killed Jesus Manso-Perez out of hatred. Phia Vue and his wife Mai Vue were Asians who had different skin and hair colors, his statement made to Mr. Manso-Perez also suits well to the shooting of the Vue couple. His statement indicated that language, race, and ethnicity led to this shooting. It was clear that this was an act of hate. We demand this fatal shooting be classified as a hate crime.

PRIOR MEASURE FOR SAFETY

In addition, we further demand a thorough review and report by the Veteran’s Administration and its corresponding overseeing entity, on the treatment Mr. Popp received for mental illness from the Veterans Administration and what additional measures, services and treatment should have been taken to prevent this tragedy.

We understand that this could be a “sensitive” issue for the defendant. However, please take the same amount of time and dedication for the victims and the survivors. We thank you and all other individuals and agencies involved in the investigation of this case. We look forward to building a safer community and for justice to be served.

Our signatures below signify that we share the same concerns and demand as described above: