James R. Lewis (May 3, 1936 – October 9, 2020) was an American

evangelist Evangelist(s) may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a ...

, businessman and former Republican member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

, who was removed from office after being convicted of

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

Background

Lewis was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He attended

Rufus King High School Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public Magnet school, magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high ...

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and one of the two doctor ...

, and

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as ...

; worked as an

for the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Train ...

; married; and became active in the organizations

Citizens for Decency Through Law Citizens for Decent Literature was a pro-censorship advocacy body founded in 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio by the Roman Catholic anti-pornography campaigner Charles Keating which advocated reading classics, not "smut". Many priests were also involved in ...

and Christian Business Men's Committee (of which he was a regional director). As of 1972–1974 he lived in the Town of Barton in Washington County. An ordained minister, Lewis founded Christian Bible Fellowship, a regional missionary society, in 1988.

Legislative service

He was elected to represent the newly created 53rd Assembly District (portions of

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

, Fond du Lac, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

counties) in 1972 with 9341 votes, to 7939 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Lehman Eichstadt. In 1974 he almost lost a challenge in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

Mary Panzer Mary E. Panzer (September 19, 1951) is an American banker and politician. A Republican, she served 25 years in the Wisconsin Legislature, including 11 years in the Wisconsin State Senate (1993–2005) and 14 years in the State Assembly (19 ...

(daughter of Frank E. Panzer, a former

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from this area), receiving 1830 votes to her 1749; but won the general election by a more comfortable margin. He saw no challenge in the 1976 primary and was reelected easily. In 1978 he was re-elected without opposition.

Conviction and removal from office

Lewis became part of a group who attempted to persuade

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

scientist Myron Muckerheide (formerly with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

) to create a

laser gun A laser weapon is a type of directed-energy weapon that uses lasers to inflict damage. Whether they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons remains to be seen. One of the major issues with laser weapons is atmospheric ...

"designed to blind people", and to sell it to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Federico Fuentes in order to raise funds to build a

laetrile Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' 'almond') is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels, pips or stones) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries and plums, and in the roots ...

factory in South America (Lewis had been a prominent Wisconsin advocate for the legalization and manufacture of laetrile). Muckerheide contacted the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, the laser was never built, and in 1979 Lewis pleaded guilty to

for lying to a federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

investigating the scheme. Lewis, apologized, saying he "...made a very, very serious mistake and I regret that very much."UPI. "Legislator pleads guilty to lying on laser gun plan." ''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

'' August 30, 1979; p.2 Fellow Republican

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Lee Dreyfus Lee Sherman Dreyfus ( ; June 20, 1926 – January 2, 2008) was an American educator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th governor of Wisconsin from January 4, 1979, to January 3, 1983. Dreyfus was a 33rd degree ...

declined to request a

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

for Lewis, although he was quoted as saying the six-month sentence was too harsh. Under the relevant provisions of Wisconsin law, Lewis was removed from office. In the subsequent

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, Mary Panzer was elected to take his place.

After removal

Lewis worked for a family owned business, Sunseed Natural Foods, in West Bend. He served on the board of the Mid-American Health Organization (a regional lobbying organization for

health food store A health food store (or health food shop) is a type of grocery store that primarily sells healthful foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selectio ...

s and sellers of

dietary supplements A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources, or that are synthetic ...

) and as its president (2002-2010). Lewis died on October 9, 2020, in Wisconsin Dells.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, James R. 1936 births 2020 deaths Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Milwaukee People from Barton, Wisconsin People from Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin American salespeople Moody Bible Institute alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni American evangelists Businesspeople from Wisconsin Wisconsin politicians convicted of crimes Rufus King International High School alumni 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature