Banta convicted of one felony

The Oshkosh man arrested during a Black Lives Matter march in Waupaca on Aug. 1, 2020, entered a plea of no contest to felony battery of an officer.

Judge Raymond Huber placed Matthew L. Banta, 25, on three years of probation and ordered him to pay $2,423 in fines and court costs.

Huber ordered the court assessment be paid from the $10,000 cash bond Banta posted for his release from custody. The remaining amount of the bond will be set aside for 30 days for any restitution.

Following his arrest, Banta was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment with weapon, two counts of battery to an officer, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.

All but one of the battery charges were dismissed but read into the court record.

According to the criminal complaint, about 20 to 30 marchers gathered in the parking lot behind the Waupaca Area Public Library, then began marching down West Fulton Street.

They were in the roadway and several vehicles were accompanying them.

“The speeds were estimated at 5 mph and they were impeding traffic,” the complaint says.

The march turned north onto Harrison Street and police stopped and cited one of the vehicles for impeding traffic.
Police say the protesters began to gather behind the stopped vehicle.

They were told to step back behind the fog line.

Banta, who police said was carrying a semi-automatic long gun, approached an officer.

The officer told Banta he would be arrested if he remained in the street.

When Banta refused to move, the officer reached for Banta’s arm to take him into custody.

Banta ran from the arresting officer and down into the ditch.

The officer reached for Banta’s backpack.

Banta turned, fell on his back and raised his rifle toward the officer.

When Banta attempted to stand up, the officer threw him to the ground and held him down.

The complaint says Banta kicked and bit the officer during their struggle on the ground.

“The rifle appeared to be loaded, had a bullet in the chamber and Banta had an 8-inch straight-blade knife in a sheath on his belt,” according to the complaint.

The march in Waupaca followed the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, on May 25, 2020. Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Protests spread from Minneapolis across the country that summer. Chauvin was later convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Green Bay incident

In Brown County Circuit Court on Sept. 24, 2021, Banta was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of probation after being convicted of obstructing an officer and two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.

He was accused of bringing smoke grenades, fireworks and an incendiary device to an Aug. 29, 2020, protest in Green Bay.