(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office)
KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha woman known to some local residents for years of online feuds and social media disputes, and who continues to use a Facebook account under the alias “Aiste Marie,” has lost her bid for a harassment restraining order after claiming another woman falsely accused her of being a prostitute, drug user and animal abuser. The ruling comes after years of legal disputes involving Ashley M. Ellison, 33, of Kenosha, including multiple harassment allegations, arrests, and criminal cases that were ultimately reduced to ordinance violations.
Ellison petitioned the court in May for a temporary restraining order against another woman. In handwritten court filings, she alleged the woman called her a “dumb” person and a “bitch” during an online dispute over a police investigation. Ellison further alleged the woman falsely claimed she used drugs, sold her body, and abused animals. She also told the court she received a message stating, “I am coming for you,” and later received messages that she interpreted as saying she deserved to be “hunted and abused.”
Court Commissioner Alexandra Smathers granted a temporary restraining order on May 12, 2026, based on Ellison’s allegations. However, after both parties appeared and testified at a contested hearing on May 26, 2026, Liberal Activist Supplemental Court Commissioner Tracey “Low-Bail” Braun found that Ellison failed to meet her burden of proof and denied a permanent harassment injunction.
Court records show Ellison testified and introduced 20 exhibits into evidence during the hearing. She also called a witness. After hearing testimony from both sides and reviewing the evidence presented, Braun dismissed the case and dissolved the temporary restraining order.
The failed injunction petition is only the latest chapter in a lengthy history of court proceedings involving Ellison.
According to a 2024 harassment petition filed against Ellison, another woman alleged that Ellison had been stalking family members for years. The petition claimed Ellison used Facebook to contact and monitor family members and their acquaintances. The filing specifically referenced an ongoing Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Sheriff’s investigators concluded that Ellison used a Facebook account operating under the name “Aiste Marie” to send messages and communicate with members of the family. Investigators alleged Ellison used the account to contact not only the petitioner but also relatives and associates of the petitioner. A deputy ultimately arrested Ellison and recommended charges of felony stalking, felony false swearing, and disorderly conduct. The account remains active and continues to be used.
The denial of the restraining-order request in that case was particularly notable because it came despite a Sheriff’s Office investigation that resulted in Ellison’s arrest for felony stalking, felony false swearing, and disorderly conduct. Former Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II nevertheless declined to issue the requested temporary restraining order. Michel was later fired from his position amid controversy surrounding several of his decisions, including criticism stemming from his denial of a restraining-order request in an unrelated case shortly before the petitioner in that matter was later killed.
The District Attorney’s Office, however, did not file the stalking or false-swearing charges recommended by investigators. Instead, prosecutors ultimately issued a county ordinance citation for disorderly conduct. Ellison later pleaded guilty to the citation.
That was not the first time prosecutors significantly reduced a case involving Ellison.
In October 2021, Pleasant Prairie police responded to the Tourist Information Center after a domestic disturbance involving Ellison and her mother. Police reports state the two women were homeless and living out of a vehicle at the time.
According to officers, the argument began over a kitten. Police reported that Ellison became angry and punched her mother in the arm and side area with a closed fist. Officers determined Ellison was the predominant aggressor and arrested her for disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse enhancer. Her mother signed a domestic violence worksheet and elected to enforce a 72-hour no-contact order.
Prosecutors subsequently filed a criminal misdemeanor case alleging disorderly conduct-domestic abuse. Court records show the misdemeanor charge was later dismissed as part of a plea agreement. In its place, prosecutors issued a county ordinance citation for disorderly conduct. Ellison pleaded guilty to the ordinance violation and paid a forfeiture.
Ellison has also allegedly harassed numerous local police officers in recent years by filing complaints that were ultimately determined to be unfounded. Multiple officers have been the subject of investigations stemming from allegations made by Ellison, only for those complaints to be rejected after review. Several law enforcement sources familiar with Ellison’s history told Kenosha County Eye they believe the complaints are part of a broader pattern in which Ellison targets individuals with whom she becomes involved in personal disputes.
Court records also show another woman successfully obtained a four-year harassment injunction against Ellison in 2020. In that case, the petitioner alleged years of unwanted communications, threats and interference with her employment. The petitioner alleged Ellison repeatedly sent hostile messages, including statements such as “Watch your back,” “I hate you, you fat fucking bitch. I hope you fucking die,” and “You’re not family so stay the fuck away.”
The petitioner also alleged that Ellison attempted to interfere with her employment by contacting the daycare center where she worked and making complaints about her conduct. After hearing testimony from both parties and a defense witness, Judge Loren Keating granted the injunction, which remained in effect until August 2024.
The contrast between the various cases is notable. In the most recent matter, Ellison sought court protection for herself after alleging she had been falsely accused of drug use and prostitution. But the court ultimately rejected her request. Earlier cases show other individuals obtaining injunctions against Ellison or accusing her of harassment, while criminal investigations involving her twice ended with prosecutors reducing criminal allegations to ordinance-level disorderly conduct offenses.
The latest ruling leaves Ellison without an injunction and closes the most recent chapter in a years-long series of harassment disputes that have repeatedly found their way into Kenosha County courts.
