Attorney's Note

Under the Wisconsin Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class H felonyup to 6 yearsup to $10,000
For details, see § 939.50

Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 86.192

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Municipality: includes cities and villages; it may be construed to include towns. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
   (1)    No person may injure, deface or remove any sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker erected by the state or by any municipality thereof for the warning, instruction or information of the public. The following warning shall be affixed to the front of each such sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker: “WARNING: $25 to $100 fine or imprisonment for removing or tampering with this sign.”
   (1m)   No person may possess any sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker of the type erected by the state or by any municipality for the warning, instruction or information of the public, unless the person can demonstrate that he or she obtained it in a legal manner. Possession of such a sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker creates a rebuttable presumption of illegal possession. In this subsection, “possession” means the presence of such a sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker on premises owned or controlled by the person, including but not limited to a rented apartment, rented room or dormitory room. Persons who voluntarily notify a law enforcement agency of the presence on their premises of such a sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker shall be exempt from prosecution under this subsection.
   (2)   Any person who violates this section shall be fined $25 for the first violation, $100 for a subsequent violation, or imprisoned not exceeding 30 days for the first violation, or 60 days for a subsequent violation, or both fined and imprisoned in the discretion of the court. The court may, in addition, order any such person either to restore or replace any such damaged sign, mile post, signal or marker, or to pay the cost thereof.
   (3)   On conviction of any person of a violation of this section, the person or persons who informed against and aided in the prosecution of such offense to conviction shall be paid by the court one-half of the amount of the fine paid into the court.
   (4)   Any person who violates this section is guilty of a Class H felony if the injury, defacement or removal causes the death of a person.