Reposted from a year ago.
It was crazy. While you were all locked out, I got a view from the inside. It wasn’t pretty. People not arrested but being physically dragged out of the area in front of the Assembly Chambers, media denied access to the event, Assembly Dems locked out of the chambers and in the middle of it all, Jesse Jackson. I explain the series of videos I posted yesterday, so you can see what you were denied access to.
I got to the capitol around 8:00 yesterday and was not even surprised to find it locked in violation of the recent court order. Violations of the law and our rights are to be expected these days. I used my press pass to get in and found a few people in the rotunda, it was very few tho. A few more got in somehow. But the action was clearly up by the Assembly Chambers, so I went up to take a look. The first hour was relatively calm. Then, Chief Tubbs appeared and wanted the protesters to go downstairs and go through the metal detector. The protesters did not fall for that trick, it was designed to get them to leave and then they would block access to the Assembly chambers. Apparently they then said that they could be wanded if they stayed there. Here’s what most people heard.
The wands never showed up, but the troopers did.
Then they denied the media access to the area outside the Assembly.
And then pushed further down the hall.
And eventually the troopers came in to get people’s property and eventually people.
The first group of people went relatively voluntarily.
Then a group of people sat down in the middle of the room and Chief Tubbs came in to “negotiate” with them. However, his negotiations are not really that, as he gets overruled by DOA and doesn’t have much authority.
Eventually he gets the second group to leave.
Meanwhile, the Assembly Democrats also can’t get into the capitol. Mark Pocan appeals to Chief Tubbs to help them get in the building.
Leon Young explains how he (barely) got in the building.
Eventually they start on the third group of people sitting the hallway outside Fitzgeralds office. (thanks to my guest camera person on this one!)
Suddenly the room erupts as it gets closer to 11:00 when the assembly was supposed to meet. The republicans are no where to be found, and the Assembly Dems are locked out of the room. (Thanks to Eric Allin for editing assistance on this one)
The doors eventually open and the republicans appear from thin air . . . or a service elevator. But in all the chaos, Jesse Jackson ends up standing next to me and explaining how the tactics of Governor Walker are much like Governor George Wallace. He sums it all up in a sobering kind of way.
What a morning. I never thought I’d see violations of so many rights of people in such a short time. And I never thought it would happen in Wisconsin, which many have renamed FitzWalkerstan. The last almost 4 weeks just all seem so surreal.
