Outrage is growing over the decision to arrest and charge disabled combat veteran Fred Smith for accidentally using a Trump novelty bill at Kwik Trip, and Kwik Trip has now apologized for pursuing charges.
Fred Smith, 75, is a 100% disabled Vietnam combat veteran who was shot five times serving his country, spent a year in the hospital after leaving Vietnam, and ran an antique store in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, for decades. He suffers from PTSD, and his memory has slipped to the degree that he puts Post-it notes around his house to make sure he remembers things. He’s had three knee replacement surgeries, one hip replacement, and he can’t bend one hand due to the old combat gunshot wounds.
He’s also a widower whose wife died of ovarian cancer, he ran an antiques store for years in Wisconsin and is well-known in his community, and he has no criminal record. In fact, Smith had never gotten so much as a speeding ticket.
Until now.
The elderly vet’s life has been turned upside down after the Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne made what many consider a baffling and outrageous decision to charge Smith with a felony (carrying a possible prison sentence of six years) after he accidentally tried to pay for scratch-off lottery tickets at Kwik Trip with a novelty bill with President Donald Trump’s face on it. There is a concept called mens rea in criminal law. It holds that a defendant “must possess a guilty state of mind and be aware of his or her misconduct,” which Smith’s daughter, Molly Schmock, says was NOT present here. We initially heard about the situation from a police detective in another jurisdiction who is outraged that Smith was charged and arrested.
Kwik Trip is also under fire, as is the Mount Horeb Police Department, which chose to arrest Smith and haul him off to jail, where the elderly vet spent three days over Christmas. Now, Kwik Trip says it wants the DA to drop the charges, but Ozanne did not return a request for comment. Mount Horeb police, under a department led by Chief Doug Vierck, are standing by their decision. In a previous news release, they said the business requested that criminal charges be pursued against Smith. That’s no longer the case, but police have not altered their stance. Asked for comment, they referred WRN to the past news release.
Kwik Trip Apologizes
“We did call and apologize, and we are looking to get the charges dropped,” confirmed Ben Leibl, spokesman for Kwik Trip, to Wisconsin Right Now on December 29. “It was never our intention for this to happen in the first place.”
However, WKOW-TV previously reported that Kwik Trip called police and added, “Kwik Trip is also requesting that criminal charges be pursued.” The police news release confirms this. Asked why that occurred if Kwik Trip didn’t intend for charges to be filed, Leibl said he was “not quite sure. That was never our intent.”
On December 29, he told WRN that Kwik Trip “called the DA’s office and made it known that our wishes are that the charges are dropped against Fred, and we will see what happens.” Asked what the DA said in response, Leibl said, “I wasn’t speaking directly to the attorney, but they know what our wishes are.”
He added: “It’s an awful thing. We truly feel bad for what happened to Mr. Smith.” Smith also spent three days in jail.
“We called the family to apologize, and we are truly sorry for what happened,” Leibl said.
Smith’s daughter, Molly Schmock, told Wisconsin Right Now in the interview that it was an accident. Her dad didn’t even remember that he had the novelty Trump bill in his wallet, and the obviously joke bill got mixed up with other cash.
There were a number of other measures that could have been taken, according to Smith’s supporters, who have launched a GoFundMe to help pay his legal fees.
Police could have asked him to simply pay the tab at Kwik Trip, or they could have ticketed him. If they were determined to arrest him, they could have given him a summons to appear in court rather than incarcerating him (that happens in Milwaukee all the time.) Ozanne could have declined to issue charges, could have directed a municipal ticket instead, or could opt for a diversion program or deferred prosecution agreement. He could dismiss the charges now.
What have Mount Horeb police said? On December 26, they released a news release. On December 29, asked for further comment after Kwik Trip’s statement, they said: “We appreciate your inquiry into this case. We are unable to comment on a number of your questions in this case. It is currently in the hands of the Dane County District Attorney’s office since being charged out. Please see the attached media release which was released on Friday.”
What did that release say?
“On December 23, 2025 Mount Horeb Officers were dispatched to Kwik Trip for a fraudulent 100-dollar bill being used for payment. Investigation established probable cause to arrest the subject for Forgery-Uttering 943.38(2). We are aware of the vast amount of information being passed on social media regarding this arrest and are putting out factual information on this case.”
Police wrote:
- “The arrested person passed a fraudulent 100-dollar bill as payment to a local business resulting in financial loss.”
- “This 100-dollar bill was realistic in appearance including size, and design including hologramsand 3D blue security ribbon, but did have an image of Donald Trump rather than BenjaminFranklin. It was not just a singular bill, but mixed amongst several US Currency bills.”
- “The business requested that criminal charges be pursued against the arrested person. We have reviewed body camera footage and verified this to be true.”
- “The Dane County jail was contacted after information was shared with us. They confirmed thatthey are providing adequate medical care for the arrested person while in their care and they have not refused medical treatment for this individual.
- “A judge reviewed the case, as they do in all in-custody cases. The judge found probable causefor the arrest. This is the reason he remained in custody.”
“It is truly unfortunate that anyone has to spend the holidays in jail,” wrote Mount Horeb police. “The officer in this case investigated the incident and made a decision that was supported by policy and statute. There are no media releases regarding this case planned for the future.”
Schmock says they are claiming herdad shuffled the $100 Trump bill in between the two real $50 bills he used to pay, but that makes no sense to her. It’s not even a clever fake; it’s an obvious joke bill. And she says he didn’t realize it was there.
‘It Was a Complete Accident’
Schmock explained to WRN that everything went down on Tuesday, December 23. “My dad was coming home from a doctor’s appointment at the VA,” she said. “He stopped at Kwik Trip. He was buying some scratch-offs, getting them for Christmas gifts.”
She said that he paid with cash, but “didn’t realize this novelty bill was in his wallet, so he paid with that. It was never checked or questioned.” If the clerk had said something, she says he would have been surprised, apologized, and immediately paid with other money.
“It was a complete accident. He got all the way home. Two police officers showed up at his house and asked if he had been to Kwik Trip and if he was missing his debit card. He wasn’t even sure of that at first. He let them come in. They said he was under arrest for forgery. My dad was like, ‘Excuse me?’ They were like, ‘You passed a counterfeit bill.’ He said he didn’t even know it was in his wallet. He asked to make it right. He was very confused. He cooperated the whole time. They said it was too late, and they took him in. He left without his medication.”
She said they took him to the Dane County Jail, and he “got a few of his prescription meds at the end. He never got any of his proper pain prescription. They were giving him Tylenol, and he was going through withdrawals from the medication he was on. Throwing up, couldn’t keep food down. He had a very hard time in jail. His knee was locking up. He could hardly walk. He had a cane.” Police previously told WKOW that “the jail says Smith received proper medical care and that treatment was not refused.”
WKOW also wrote previously, “Mount Horeb Police say the arrest was valid and that a judge found probable cause.”
Smith called his daughter from jail and told her, “I don’t know if I can make it through the night.” He spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night in jail and “we got him out Friday.” He spent Christmas in jail.
“He’s a Vietnam veteran with a Purple Heart. He was shot five times in combat. He recovered in hospitals for over a year after the war. He has been in the Mount Horeb area for over 40 years. My parents owned an antique store in town for over 20 years. My mother passed away 10 years ago from ovarian cancer, so December is always a hard time anyway. He has been retired since then, doing the grandpa thing.”
Molly is an only child, and she and her husband have two boys. “They are his pride and joy. He is at all their sports events. He is the team grandpa. He’s everywhere. Everyone in town knows him. He coached me in softball all through high school. He’s been a very big presence. He has no criminal history, no record. Not even a speeding ticket.”
Smith turns 76 in January. “He’s been getting older. I am not saying he needs full-time care,” says his daughter. “But I have been noticing that things have been slipping lately. I check on him daily. He puts notes around the house reminding him to call this person or do that thing. That happens as you get older. I am like, ‘Dad, you do know this person.’ It seems like this year or two, things were slipping further. It’s not like he needs full-time care, but we have been working on selling things in his house so we can downsize him and move him closer to us. He has lived in this house for over 40 years. He has PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Nightmares from the war. The other night, he had a traumatic nightmare from this whole ordeal.”
Smith served in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. He is “100 percent disabled.” He had a hip replacement and three knee replacement surgeries. “He can’t bend one of his hands completely from being shot.”
She said the novelty bill had Trump’s face on it and the words “In Trump We Trust,” and her dad can’t even remember where he got it. “He thinks maybe at a restaurant. He doesn’t know.” It also said that it was not to be used as legal tender, she said.
“He accidentally put it in his wallet at some point. Maybe there was cash on the counter, and you know, you grab it, and it got mixed in somehow. He wasn’t trying to do this deliberately. He is a very honest person. He donates to charities.”
She said the entire situation has been “incredibly stressful. I don’t think I even ate for the first few days. I wish they had just let him go back and pay for it.”
She said it was a $100 novelty bill, and Smith used that and two real $50 bills to pay for the tickets. “He parked right out front. I don’t understand why it went this far. My dad was kind and patient and didn’t resist. My husband did end up going to pay. Their tab is paid. He is limping around.”
Initially, of Kwik Trip, she said, “I heard they wanted to press charges.” But on December 29, she confirmed Kwik Trip called her and said they want the charges dropped. That’s in the hands of Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne, however.
Table of Contents
