MINOCQUA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The owner of a Northwoods brewery, who has stirred controversy over an offer to give out free beer the day President Donald Trump dies, announced Saturday he is running for governor of Wisconsin.

Kirk Bangstad made the announcement outside of the taproom of the Minocqua Brewing Company Saturday afternoon, May 1. 

Bangstad recently got the attention of the FBI and U.S. Secret Service when he responded to last Saturday's attempted assassination of President Trump by reupping his offer to hold a "free beer day" promotion when Trump dies.

A live video stream to the brewery's Facebook page featured Bangstad speaking to supporters. Bangstad said he'd "begged" other progressives to run for governor in recent days, included State Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee.

The brewery owner then said he concluded he should just run for the state's highest office himself.

"My mind changed," Bangstad said. "And I decided I'm not gonna stand for this anymore, and I'm gonna run for governor of Wisconsin."

Bangstad indicated he will run on a platform of "saving democracy." He said while other candidates might focus on issues of affordability, left-wing leaders should instead focus on protecting voting rights.

"You ain't gonna fix the cost of eggs if you can no longer vote," Bangstad said.

The FBI's Milwaukee office and the Secret Service sent out a joint statement Thursday, shortly after Bangstad posted a video to social media he claimed was an interaction between he and two Secret Service agents.

"The U.S. Secret Service follows up on perceived threats against the President of the United States or any one of our protectees," the statement said. "The FBI and Secret Service together followed up on information received and conducted further investigative steps, which included a voluntary interview with the individual."

Bangstad recently shots at State Rep. Francesca Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, accusing them of throwing "a fellow progressive under the bus" in a social media post Wednesday.

"Feel free to stay quiet. No need to stick your necks out in solidarity," Bangstad wrote. "Corporate Democrats never do."

The most recent Marquette Law poll in March found Hong as the early leader in the Democratic primary with the support of 14% of respondents. Barnes was in second with 11%. However, the vast majority of respondents, 65%, said they were still undecided.

In the March Marquette poll, 75% of voters said they were "very concerned" about inflation and the cost of living. The next highest concerns were health insurance and jobs; 63% and 60% of respondents, respectively, said they were very concerned about those issues.

The poll did not include democracy or voting rights on the list of issues.

Bangstad said Saturday he believed the right candidate could persuade voters to care more about a particular issue.

"If you're strong enough and passionate enough," Bangstad said. "You can tell people what's important, and they listen to you."