MADISON, Wis. -- Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said he has demoted state Fire Marshal Carolyn Kelly for threatening his executive staff in e-mails, slowing the release of records tied to a mass murder in the north woods and obstructing an investigation into her conduct.

Van Hollen stripped Kelly of her law enforcement duties Wednesday and reassigned her to an analyst position that pays about $34,000 less.

Van Hollen said Kelly sent e-mails on the Justice Department network calling his appointed staff "weasels" and wondering whether she could advertise on Craigslist for hit men.

Kelly supervised the investigation into last fall's mass murder in Crandon. E-mails show that she refused to let Van Hollen's staff talk directly to her agents about releasing records.