During the closing days of last year's campaign, then Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a rally in Wisconsin's Waukesha County.

However, Harris' event was followed by a bizarre incident for which a man was just sentenced to two years probation. 

Driver pleads guilty to pair of misdemeanor charges

According to Fox News 6, deputies with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office pulled over 55-year-old Wayne Wacker in October of 2024 near the Marquette Interchange.

Wacker's arrest came after he had passed Harris' motorcade while driving his SUV westbound in the eastbound lane of I-94.

Wacker told the deputies that he was attempting to return home after spending an evening out and was not aware that he was on the wrong side of the road.

The deputies determined that Wacker was operating under the influence of alcohol, with a subsequent search of his vehicle revealing an open container of alcohol.

While Wacker was initially charged with felony reckless driving along with impaired driving, he later pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and disorderly conduct.

Defense unsuccessfully tried to have reckless driving charge dismissed

The reckless driving charge stemmed from the fact that  freeway surveillance cameras showed Wacker's vehicle traveling within feet of the former vice president's motorcade.

Wayne Wacker pleaded guilty in a deal to negligent operation of a motor vehicle and disorderly conduct. https://t.co/dJOAWLnDEr

— FOX6 News (@fox6now) April 29, 2025

WISN 12 reported in January that Wacker's attorney unsuccessfully attempted to have his client's charge of reckless driving dismissed.

Defense attorney Julius Kim maintained that Wacker was too intoxicated to understand the danger he created by entering the highway's eastbound lane.

Judge rejected defense arguments

"I don't think that the state's going to resolve this case without any type of criminal charges at all. It's, but you know, what those charges are matter, and it's a big deal that could have a big impact on Mr. Wacker, his future and career, etc.. So, that's kind of where we're at with things," Kim was quoted as saying.

Yet that reasoning was rejected by Judge Christy Yang, who pointed to statements which Wacker later made when questioned by the Secret Service.

"He knew he was at a bar," Yang noted. "He knew in which neighborhood he was, and he knew that he was heading home from the bar in Walker's Point. Furthermore, [the] issue of truthfulness is an issue for the jury."