The owner of a Wisconsin brewery who garnered attention for promising free beer on the day President Donald Trump dies is vowing to fight back after state officials moved to revoke his alcohol permit.

According to The Independent, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is planning to shut down the Minocqua Brewing Company by August 4. The agency's alcohol enforcement unit oversees licensing and compliance for breweries and other alcohol manufacturers statewide. The timeline was disclosed in a newsletter published Sunday by brewery owner Kirk Bangstad, who has described his business as "the state's most progressive brewery." Minocqua is a small resort town in Wisconsin's Northwoods lake region, an area better known for summer tourism than partisan confrontation.

Bangstad frequently criticizes Trump in posts on his company's social media accounts and has released beers named in honor of liberal politicians.

The Department of Revenue maintains that the planned shutdown is not politically motivated, pointing to regulatory violations at the company's locations. Bangstad, however, contends the citations are pretextual and has pledged to assemble a legal defense fund to challenge the action.

In a Substack post, Bangstad wrote: "I think ... either the beer distributors in the Republican Tavern League have an 'in' at the Department of Revenue and are trying to work us over, or someone in [Democratic Governor Tony] Evers' office is trying to shut me up." The Wisconsin Tavern League has long been recognized as one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the state, with particular influence over alcohol regulation and tax policy in a state whose brewing industry is historically central to its identity.

Bangstad also noted that Nicole Zautner, an agent with the Department of Revenue, investigated his brewery last year based on what he described as unfounded complaints. He said the probe was "predicated on fake MAGA complaints to the Department of Health that we put Covid vaccine in our beer, among other ridiculous claims."

Bangstad additionally shared his email response to the New York Post, which had contacted him seeking comment on the controversy.

"Given that your organization was forced to pay $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems for pushing a lie that American elections weren't secure, we're not inclined to give you a quote for our story," he wrote. "We do invite you to come to #halfpricebeerday, when we'll celebrate the life of Mitch McConnell, who died months ago but whom you've reported is still alive today."

"Alternatively, you're invited to #freebeerday, our celebration of life for the Orange (expletive) gibbon, which will occur the day that his McDonald's-induced blood clot finally moves," he continued.