MENOMINEE — Further information about the circumstances leading to charges being filed against a Wallace man accused of misrepresenting himself as the incumbent county sheriff during his election campaign for the postion was released Tuesday.

On May 3, Menominee County Prosecutor Jeffery T. Rogg issued a press release stating Joseph John Grinsteiner, 49, of Wallace, was being charged with three counts of False Designation of Incumbency, related to ways Grinsteiner and his campaign had presented him as if he was already the county’s sheriff.

Among the reasons for the charges was a report that several waitresses at the American Legion Hall on First Street in Menominee were wearing t-shirts reading “Sheriff Joe Grinsteiner” in early April of this year. However, further investigation revealed the t-shirts were seen at the Stephenson, Mich., American Legion Post and not the Menominee Post as originally reported to the investigating authorities. Tom Chernetski, public affairs officer of Menominee American Legion Post 146, contacted the prosecutor’s office and requested the matter be corrected for the public record.

“Obviously, I regret that the Menominee Post was initially named, but as I explained to Mr. Chernetski, I was reviewing the information I had in the police report at the time I authorized the charges,” said Rogg in an email to the Daily Press Tuesday.

The original complaint was made on April 6 by an voter, who has not been named publicly, to D/Sgt. Darrin Kudwa of the Menominee

Police Department.

Subsequent investigation also revealed a Facebook page titled “Sheriff Joe Grinsteiner,” which included photographs and videos featuring the slogan “Elect for Menominee County 2020, Sheriff Joe Grinsteiner.” Grinsteiner himself used the page as a platform to speak in his own defense and make his own allegations Sunday.

“You know, I’m running for sheriff but let me play detective for a second here, I think we have a Democrat amongst us that’s going to be running against Joe. Somebody is friends with the prosecutor. This is a nothing-burger. My attorney’s got it handled, and I tell you what, there has been nothing that we did wrong,” said Grinsteiner.

In the almost four-minute-long video, Grinsteiner took aim Rogg directly, claiming the “liberal prosecution” didn’t fit in with the local community; repeatedly saying the constitutional rights of Menominee County residents were under attack; and taking issue with detectives from the Menominee Police Department telling campaign volunteers not to post specific things on Facebook.

“My campaign is working. It looks like Joe Grinsteiner could be sheriff and somebody’s nervous,” Grinsteiner said in the video.

One of the other items leading to the charges against Grinsteiner is a large billboard in support of Grinsteiner’s campaign near the intersection of M-35 and US-41 that features the Michigan Sheriff’s Association logo. The logo design is registered and reserved for use only by Michigan county sheriff members in active law enforcement. The MSA is a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation, and as such, does not endorse political candidates, as doing so would be a violation of IRS rules and regulations.

Grinsteiner claimed the logo was used because it was representative of the office he is seeking.

“I think they just stuck a big stick in the hornet’s nest of Menominee County because people are getting sick and tired of being pushed around. Well, I’m a candidate for sheriff of 2020, and I tell you want, I think somebody’s afraid of a sheriff that actually has a backbone, and I’m going to go after people that stomp on constitutional rights. Somebody’s nervous. I’ll let you figure out who that is,” said Grinsteiner.

Grinsteiner has been charged with three counts of False Designation of Incumbency. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grinsteiner will be summoned to Menominee County District Court before District Judge Robert J. Jamo and arraigned at a date that has yet to be scheduled.