Like much of the country, Wisconsin was dealing with severe weather on Friday. The northern part of the state was getting dumped on by a bad snowstorm while the southern part of the state was contending with severe thunderstorms and the possibility of tornadoes.

Wisconsin Republicans and right wing Ultra MAGA Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly thought it was the perfect time to send out a fake text alert, complete with the sounds, to people's phones. This stunt could land them in some hot water:

The video would likely violate federal law if broadcasted on television, according to recent Federal Communications Commission enforcement actions. What was less clear late Friday is whether it’s allowed to be transmitted via text message.

According to the FCC rules, people and groups are barred from using emergency alert system codes or signals in "advertisements, promotional announcements, or other programming," if the sounds are being used not in connection with an actual emergency, an emergency system test, or a public service announcement authorized to use such sounds.

The use of sounds intended to "mimic" "or are substantially similar" to the alert sounds so that an average listener could reasonably mistake the sounds for an actual emergency alert are also prohibited, according to the FCC.

Then to remove all doubt that they are boorish louts, the GOP dismissed complaints about their idiocy, saying it was all "fake outrage."

That will really impress the voters.