Although prominent Dane County officials said they were deeply disturbed by governor’s consideration of placing saboteurs among protesters, no criminal charges will be filed.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said at a press conference in the courthouse that they had been reviewing Gov. Scott Walker’s reactions to the crowds protesting his budget repair bill and said they were very concerned.

Ozanne said he had received requests from members of the public to look into the phone call between Walker and a Buffalo, N.Y., blogger impersonating David Koch, a significant contributor to the Walker’s successful gubernatorial campaign.

In the phone call, Walker told the caller that he had thought about placing someone in with the protesters to cause trouble.

“I’ve not started a formal investigation on the governor’s phone call and at this time I do not find any criminal liability,” Ozanne said. “Even though the statements made are concerning and actually quite alarming, I think it’s safe to say it speaks directly to character.”

He added he would like to know more about the conversation regarding planting people in the protest, including who Walker originally spoke with, where was the conversation was held and when it took place.

In press conferences, Walker admitted to considering placing saboteurs among the thousands of protesters in opposition to his budget repair bill. However, he said it was one of many options his staff had examined, although in the end decided not to pursue.

Still, more unsettling for Ozanne was the fact that Walker had thought about planting a saboteur in the crowd at all, he said.

“The governor’s words speak for themselves. He did not respond with an unequivocal ‘There’s no way we’d bring that up,'” Ozanna said. “We know what happens when you yell fire in a movie theater. You cannot say these things when a reaction likely would cause serious harm to somebody.”

The DA did not expect more details to come out about the call and said he would not investigate the matter further. Issues of public integrity or government corruption usually fall within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice and the attorney general.

The DOJ have not received a formal request to investigate the phone conversation between Walker and the blogger impersonating Koch, but Ozanne said the DOJ has looked into it and came to the same conclusion he had – there is not enough support to file a criminal investigation.

The DOJ could choose to sit down with the governor to find support, but it would be their decision, Ozanne said.

Ozanne said he also received a complaint requesting him to look into the legality of the 14 Democratic senators’ flight to Illinois, but said he saw no legal implications in their actions.

“I believe they are working within the rules of the house to make their voices heard,” Ozanne said. “Because [the absence of the Democrats] frustrates the majority does not make it a crime.”

Mahoney said although the phone call shocked him, he was also concerned by the increased restrictions on access to the Capitol. He said the protesters had been very peaceful and in no way should have been refused entrance.

The Department of Administration ordered deputies to guard doors to the Capitol, but Mahoney ordered them to stand down.

“I refused to put deputies in the position to be palace guards,” Mahoney said.