Rep. Chris Taylor at the Solidarity Sing Along on November 12, 2012. Photo courtesy Karen Kinsley.
WCMC has obtained a complete list of names that the Capitol Police have been using to take attendance at the Solidarity Sing Along.
Included on that list is State Representative Chris Taylor (D-Madison).
The list was obtained through an Open Records request to the Capitol Police and came with the months and dates of birth blacked out.
WCMC blurred the years of birth and last names except for the first initial to protect individuals’ identities.
WCMC previously published an incomplete version of the list from photographs taken at a sing along.
The complete list shows attendance over the last three months of 2012.
Capitol Police attendance list for October 2012.
Capitol Police attendance list for November 2012.
Capitol Police attendance list for December 2012.
Other documents provided include monthly counts of “individual contacts” and citations “issued to the individual.”
There are a total of 71 names on the list, 38 of which have received citations.
Capitol Police attendance list. Gold stars indicate people who have received citations and the number thereof under the Erwin crackdown.
The list comes with letter designations on days where attendance was taken. The letters P, L, O, and C are used. The list did not come with a magic decoder ring. However, we speculate that the letters mean the following.
P = participant
L = leader
O = observer
P is the most frequently used letter. Many of the citations issued for 2.14(2)(v) “obstruct access passage etc. (no permit)” have come with letters stating the person cited is alleged to have been a participant at an unpermitted event. L is restricted to a handful of names, three of which (Brandon B., Steve B., David W.) are known as semi-regular or regular conductors of the sing along. O is reserved for individuals who come to the sing along as ACLU observers.
The meaning of C is not as clear. We speculate it could mean citation or conductor. C is used only three times in the list. By contrast, Brandon B. has received 21 of his record 23 citations for allegedly having conducted an unpermitted event and several dozen citations have been issued to people on the list over this same time frame.
Five-number sequences (found above the dates) are likely the case management files associated with each day. The Capitol Police have been using case management files to keep track of information obtained while monitoring the sing along. Some singers have speculated this keeps the police from having to open daily incident reports, which are public, whereas case management files are not.
There are also daily totals (found below the dates) which range from a low of 8 to a high of 60. Despite the citations and police intimidation, 40-60 people continue to attend the sing along, a number that has not changed since the crackdown began in September.
Within the last month, citations issued for 2.07(2) “unlawful display of sign” and 2.08(1) “holding signs over the railings – prohibited” have been dismissed by the State Department of Justice, which are prosecuting these civil forfeitures in Dane County Court at the Department of Administration’s request.
Further, the number of citations issued has fallen sharply in November (13) and December (9) compared to September (58) and October (39). Four citations have been issued in January to date.
Chief Erwin’s attempts to crack down on the Solidarity Sing Along have failed.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said on a recent WPT program, “Here and Now,” that he continues to receive complaints from lawmakers who can’t do their work and people who can’t express their free speech in the Capitol due to the sing along.
One lawmaker, Rep. Chris Taylor, has found her way onto the Capitol Police watch list due to her participation in the sing along. Will other lawmakers stand up to the attack on 1st and 4th Amendment rights by the Walker Administration?
Rep. Chris Taylor at the Solidarity Sing Along. Photo courtesy Leslie Peterson.
Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative 
Hardly a “complete” list given many individuals who participated (i.e., those from outside Madison itself) are not named ….
Next open records request, please? How much is all this attendance-taking, name-researching, citation-issuing, etc. costing taxpayers? First amendment issues are certainly the most important thing, but lordamighty, don’t these police have any better way to spend their time than taking attendance at sing-alongs?
I’d say they really suck at keeping attendance records.
What a waste of tax payers money. Capitol cops making list of those singing inside or side the Capitol They could be doing something a lot for useful like checking how many of the legislators are under the influence of alcohol etc when they are on the Senate or Assembly floor taking a vote or discussing a bill
Walker and Huebsch and Erwin and their uniformed bully-boy thugs are trying to harass us and to intimidate us into going away. They still haven’t figured out that, in the words of one of our songs, ‘we’re not going away.’ Someones’ got to enforce the Law in the Capitol, and that’s us, enforcing the supreme law of the land, the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution. Nobody ever said they were very bright…
I really like the gold stars, a nice touch; I’m proud of mine…
This is merely the preface to Walker’s desire for a police state…….
CONFIRMED on Tuesday at the State of the State. Officers (Capitol, State Troopers, etc.) covered their badge numbers so no one, who hadn’t previously had an encounter, could identify any given officer.