Owner of Minocqua Brewing Company Linked to Social Media Posts Appearing to Celebrate White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting; Posts Deleted

Screenshots and social media posts that circulated Friday showed content from the Minocqua Brewing Company account that appeared to celebrate a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and to revive a longstanding, provocative promotion promising “free beer” the day former President Donald J. Trump died. The images and commentary were shared on multiple platforms and were later deleted from the brewery’s account, according to reports.

The posts appeared amid chaotic scenes at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where media and political figures reported shots fired and several high-profile guests—identified in some reports as former President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and members of the administration—were rushed to safety. Screenshots attributed to Minocqua Brewing Company showed text such as “we almost got #freebeerdays,” reviving an earlier promotion and prompting sharp reactions online.

The Gateway Pundit identified the owner of Minocqua Brewing Company as Kirk Bangstad and described him as an active Democratic organizer who has run for the Wisconsin State Assembly and founded a Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC. The outlet reported that Bangstad’s political activities have included legal efforts in 2023 and 2024 to challenge former President Trump’s placement on the Wisconsin ballot and that the brewery directs a portion of profits to political causes, assertions reproduced here as reported.

The controversy around the brewery is not new. The Gateway Pundit noted a January 2022 social media post from the Minocqua account that advertised “free beer all day long, the day he dies,” which was widely shared online at the time. The brewery’s Instagram account has also been cited for an extended post describing a visit with a terminally ill patient and offering that patient a Trump “Voodoo doll” to stab. The Instagram post quoted in reports said in full:

“I had a very pleasant lady in the ER (I work there). On palliative care for abdominal cancer. Hated Trump. Gladly told me. I leaned down and asked if she’d like to meet my doll. So I lent her my Trump Voodoo doll and a pin to stab him. You could hear the laughter coming from the room as my patient stabbed the doll and her daughter took a video of the fun. I eventually went back for the doll, and my patient looked up at me and said she finished up by leaving the pin in the Trump doll’s heart. She whispered conspiratorially, “I stabbed him several times in his penis.”

“So there you have it, folks, our voodoo dolls are being used extremely effectively for palliative care. If you want to do your part for the healthcare community, buy one for yourself or a loved one today.”

Critics posted screenshots claiming other recent Minocqua Brewing Company material expressed a desire for “free beer day,” and some social media users said they had repeatedly reported the brewery’s account to Instagram without seeing action taken. One user identified on X as Juanita M Anderson posted that Instagram had responded each time to say there was no violation of community guidelines, a claim shown in screenshots shared online.

The Gateway Pundit and other commentators called for law enforcement review, suggesting the posts and the owner’s past rhetoric warranted investigation by authorities such as the FBI or the Secret Service. The outlet also recounted prior legal troubles involving Bangstad, reporting that in 2025 he and several customers were arrested outside the brewery and charged with offenses including harassment, bail jumping and disorderly conduct following an altercation tied to a dispute with the publisher of the Lakeland Times.

In its coverage, The Gateway Pundit framed the brewery posts within a broader narrative of political violence and a series of past incidents it said involved attempts on Trump’s life, citing events in 2024 and early 2026. Those listings were presented by the outlet as context for why the social media material was alarming to some readers.

The posts that provoked the most attention have been deleted from the brewery’s public accounts, and screenshots remain the primary evidence circulated online. The incident has led to calls from some commentators and social media users to boycott the brewery and to urge law enforcement to determine whether the content crossed legal lines. Public statements from Minocqua Brewing Company, Kirk Bangstad, law enforcement agencies or social media companies responding to these recent allegations were not included in the reporting from The Gateway Pundit.