A member of the Solidarity Singers is handcuffed in the Capitol rotunda.
State police arrested members of a long-running daily weekday sing-along event in the Capitol rotunda Wednesday, enforcing a recent court ruling that groups must have permits to gather.
Wisconsin Capitol Police intervened in the weekly “Solidarity Sing Along,” issuing $200.05 citations for assembling without a permit to 22 attendees. The peaceful demonstrations have been a daily weekday fixture for more than two years as an offshoot of the 2011 labor protests, according to a Wednesday statement from Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison.
An additional 26 citations were issued on Thursday, Sargent said in a Thursday statement.
An April ruling from Federal Judge William Conley said larger groups of protesters need a permit to gather in the Capitol.
The arrested activists were placed in zip ties and taken to the Capitol basement, according to Sargent’s statement.
However, she said in an interview with The Badger Herald the number of participants growing from 25 last week to more than 100 on Thursday shows police actions seem to be “backfiring.”
“As the actions of the police are increasing, the numbers of people coming to exhibit their First Amendment right to free speech to petition Gov.[Scott] Walker and the government are growing, which I imagine wasn’t their plan,” Sargent said.
Protesters shouted “shame” as officers led the arrested individuals into the Capitol basement.
“This is not America, we used to have rights in America. We used to have rights in Wisconsin,” one protester said as police zip-tied him.
Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, criticized in a statement Capitol Police Chief Dave Erwin and Walker for his appointment of an “aggressive” police chief.
“Chief Erwin is determined to arrest peaceful civilians, some of who were there simply to take pictures,” Taylor said. “Chief Erwin’s actions are endangering his officers and the public. This is the kind of heavy handed police government you would expect in a third-world country, not here in Wisconsin.”
Capitol Police did not return calls for comment.
