Update from ECPS & AMKE

As the leadership of Anime Milwaukee, we take safety standards seriously. That is why we, AMKE’s parent non-profit organization (the Entertainment and Culture Promotion Society, Inc.) are choosing to come forward about an incident that happened at our show, and the preventative action we have taken since.

Anime Milwaukee can confirm there was an incident involving Mr. Kopf, a representative of Anime Midwest, at AMKE 2018. In this case, per protocol, Milwaukee PD were called by Hyatt staff. Convention staff also responded to assist the attendee as needed, until we were dismissed by police upon their arrival. Our details are pretty sparse from there, since this became a matter for law enforcement personnel. For our part, Mr. Kopf was immediately banned from Anime Milwaukee for 2018 and all future years. He is not permitted to attend AMKE in any capacity. We were also informed that the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee banned him from their property.

Our convention chair at the time, Corey Wood, acted decisively to ensure Mr. Kopf, all associated events staff, and promotional materials were ejected fully from Anime Milwaukee events space. 

Anime Milwaukee often does reciprocal convention ‘swaps’ for badges, a promotional table, program book advertisements, etc. All representatives are required to honor convention policies. This was a clear violation; we have not partnered with nor will we promote Anime Midwest or any other events affiliated with Mr. Kopf. 

We recognize that this was an instance where our safety policies fell short and we are taking all feedback to heart. At AMKE 2019 this past year, we made sure to step up communication, ensuring attendees would know what to do should they need assistance. We also increased the visibility of our staff, so attendees knew how to find someone if help was needed. As we have done for multiple years now, we coordinate directly with Milwaukee police, private security and venue security.

For AMKE 2020, we will continue to introduce new policies and tools. The safety of our attendees and staff is our number one priority. We welcome your feedback and criticisms at ecpsociety@animemilwaukee.org.

Entertainment and Culture Promotion Society (ECPS) Board of Directors

Timothy Huesmann, Convention Chair