Not guilty plea entered for ex-campaign volunteer

A former volunteer for a Republican congressional campaign who had claimed to be the victim of a politically motivated assault appeared in Dane County Court on Thursday morning.

Kyle Wood, 29, stood mute in court during his initial appearance and the court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Wood is facing a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of an officer. The charge carries a penalty of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

In late October, Wood reported to Madison police that he was attacked in his home. Wood claimed the attack was politically motivated. He told police his face was smashed into a mirror and he was choked during the attack.

Wood said the attack was retaliation because he was an openly gay Republican volunteering for Republican Chad Lee’s campaign in the 2nd District.

Wood claimed the attacker called him a “political traitor.”

According to court documents obtained by WISC-TV, five days after the alleged attack while police were questioning inconsistencies in his story, Wood told police, “You’re right — I did it to myself.”