Earlier this week, video footage from a number of handheld cameras in the Wisconsin State Capitol building was released showing Capitol Police subduing protester Damon Terrell. In the rotunda during a protest, Terrell can be seen backing away from approaching officers saying “no, no, this is not illegal,” when several officers rush to tackle him and pin him down on the floor. All the while, other officers provide crowd control. According to the Capitol Police, “[Terrell] began to walk away and actively resisted arrest,” as reported by the Wisconsin State Journal. Terrell has since been charged with felony battery and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Strict enforcement of a policy that requires groups to obtain a permit in order to assemble in the Capitol has become a flashpoint for the ongoing conflict between Gov. Scott Walker’s administration and the malcontents formed in the 2011 protests. A motley crew of hangers-on refuse to cease and desist, shouting their political grievances against Walker in the Capitol building and refusing to secure permits. At the same time, Walker, his overeager Capitol Police Chief David Erwin and a hapless Department of Administration are blind to the fact that crackdowns on protesters without permits have only exacerbated the problem as turnout has increased in response to their citations and arrests.
Protesters like those of the Solidarity Sing Along can’t exactly play the heroes of this story. While some will try to paint their refusal to apply for a permit as a principled adherence to the First Amendment, their actions can just as well be termed a reactionary form of defiance of Walker. After all, they aren’t prohibited from protesting in the Capitol building – they just need to get a permit first. Better yet, nobody is stopping them from applying for a permit to shout their disagreements with Walker’s management of Wisconsin. This is not a battle over free speech: It’s a quibble over an unpopular administrative policy.
Nevertheless, it would be unfair to hold protesters responsible for last week’s events, which are just another result of a particularly lackluster year for Erwin and DOA. If this crackdown on the singers had never taken place, the Solidarity Sing Along would likely have faded into obscurity rather than growing into the attention-grabbing debacle it is now. It has become increasingly clear that in their misguided efforts to free the Capitol building of disruptive protest, they have actually fanned the flames they sought to blow out.
No one can legitimately claim the crackdown on protesters is in any way illegal or unconstitutional – several other states have similar laws which have been upheld. However, just because the Capitol Police can crack down on the protesters doesn’t mean they should. By cracking down on protesters, authorities have created a public relations disaster that interferes with day-to-day government processes and creates a distraction from issues of real political importance. Is Erwin stomping on First Amendment rights? No, but by enforcing questionable permit policies with sometimes violent arrests, Capitol authorities are engaging in a senseless conflict with protesters that cannot be won by force.
At the end of the day, it is evident that Walker, Erwin and the Department of Administration have been completely ineffective in dealing with protesters at the Capitol. Clearly this crackdown is only making matters worse, and by using the same failed policy over and over again, Walker and his administration are asking for a repeat of 2011.
Regardless, all parties involved could be spending their time in more constructive ways, say, working to create jobs in a stagnant state economy – unless Walker’s plan is to create the 250,000 jobs he promised solely in the Capitol Police force.
