"She sort of went ballistic;" police say woman spit at GOP office worker

SHEBOYGAN (WITI) -- The official campaign for governor is one day old, but things are already getting heated! Volunteers at a Republican field office were harassed and spit upon in an incident that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. Now, a woman is paying a hefty fine for her bad behavior.

At the Republican field office in Sheboygan, volunteers were busy making calls on Tuesday, April 15th.

"It started out as a typical day in the office," Greg Quella said.

But that soon changed.

"I was at my desk writing some thank you notes to some of the volunteers and noticed a woman coming to the door," Quella said.

The 54-year-old woman was enraged over an article she had read showing that the Wisconsin Republican Party will vote on whether to secede from the United States during the May convention.

"She just sort of went ballistic really. Just started yelling and went on a rant about how terrible we were. She called me a couple of things that I probably can't repeat, saying how Governor Walker is ruining the state and Republicans are ruining the country," Quella said.

Quella says she threw papers around the office, and even knocked an elephant statue off the front desk.

Quella asked her to leave.

"She got right up in my face. Said I'm a scumbag.  Spit in my face and turned around, slammed the door. She was frothing at the mouth," Quella said.

The woman left the office, and Quella grabbed his smartphone and snapped a few shots.

"He photographed the car to get the license plate, so we would be able to identify her," Sheboygan Police Officer John Samuels said.

Sheboygan police investigated and issued the woman a $250 ticket for disorderly conduct.

Samuels says this incident is a good reminder that people can have disagreements, but don't have to be disagreeable.

"Politics really seems to polarize people, and there's nothing wrong with having different opinions.  It's the way you present your case, the way you ask your questions, the way you interact with -- as the British would call 'the opposition.' Listening to the other side, being respectful, behaviors like that will get us in the right direction working together rather than always seemingly butting heads," Samuels said.