Tag Archives: Capitol Police

Court Decision Undermines Chief Erwin’s Capitol Crackdown

By Hematite Sometimes good news comes wrapped in bad packages. News that a lawsuit against the DoA and Capitol Police for arrests made in March, 2011 for holding signs on the first floor of the Capitol had been dismissed felt like a hard blow to first amendment activists when it first broke on Thursday morning. […]

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Free Speech On Life Support In Wisconsin Capitol

Will Chief Erwin Pull the Plug? By Nicole Desautels Schulte Last February 14, Valentine’s Day, Jason Huberty, a geologist and First Amendment enthusiast, was arrested in the Wisconsin Senate Gallery and charged with Disorderly Conduct for holding a 2″ x 3″ piece of paper on which he had printed the words, “Have a Heart.” Video […]

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This Is Far From Over: Chalkupation at the Capitol

A few dozen activists chalked the sidewalks outside the Wisconsin State Capitol Sunday afternoon after Steve Books, a Madison veteran and peace activist was arrested, handcuffed, cited and released Saturday for writing “This is Far from over” in chalk on the public sidewalk. The citation issued was for “other conduct prohibited” under Wisconsin Administrative Code […]

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Dear Capitol Police: Sorry About the ‘Divide and Conquer’ Thing

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I bet we’ve all heard this before. It played itself out Monday in the Wisconsin Capitol building. Since the recall elections, the Capitol Police have shown a renewed interest in those of us who keep returning day after day to sing and hold signs and […]

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Why Didn’t Walker Exempt ALL Police Agencies From Provisions of Act 10?

_______________________________________________________________________________ Walker: “Well, we’re going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill… The first step is, we’re going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.” _______________________________________________________________________________ The following is a letter written by a Wisconsin law enforcement officer who wishes to remain […]

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Camera Returned, Civil Rights Still Missing

On March 23, 2012 Arthur Kohl-Riggs finally got his video camera out of Wisconsin Capitol Police custody. It was impounded on March 13, 2012 when Kohl-Riggs was detained for simply having the camera with him in the Assembly gallery. WI Capitol Police informed him at that time that the camera was considered evidence even though Kohl-Riggs […]

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Still Without A Camera, One Week After Questionable Arrest

Arthur Kohl-Riggs still doesn’t have his video camera. The Madison, WI video journalist was arrested on March 13, 2012 for simply having his camera with him in the Assembly gallery of the WI State Legislature. The police are holding his camera as evidence. Yesterday, Kohl-Riggs’ attorney, Susan M. Crawford of Cullen Weston Pines & Bach, […]

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Possession of a Camera-A Crime in the WI Assembly

By Whitney Steffen, Leslie Amsterdam and Arthur Kohl-Riggs Above is a video of another unconstitutional arrest. However, this is more proof of the continued unprofessional behavior of the Capitol Police and Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms’ staff when it comes to rights, people’s property, and their safety. The Wisconsin State Assembly has its own set of rules. Assembly […]

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“You Could Have Killed a Child!” In Fitzwalkerstan, an Unattended Sign is as Dangerous as an Unlocked Gun

March 8, 2012 by WCMC March 7, 2012 was a special day. The ferrous mining bill AB426 was sent back to committee by Scott Fitzgerald, and I wanted to celebrate by coming to the Solidarity Sing Along. I picked up my banners and went to the Capitol rotunda at noon as I have hundreds of […]

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