Will anyone Challenge the Walker Authority’s Violations of the First Amendment, State Constitution?

Arresting peaceful protesters can’t be constitutional. So what’s the hang up?

You know we’re in real trouble, when after 10 months, the ACLU and Democrats are still bumping into walls over what appears to be a clear violation of our state and federal constitutions.

To add insult to injury, Scott Walker is touring the state as a counterbalance, celebrating the anniversary of our federal constitution;

“Our founding fathers risked their lives to embark on our great American experiment and crafted the Constitution to serve as its blueprint,” said Governor Walker. “Our commitment to freedom and opportunity laid out in the Constitution has made America the greatest and most prosperous nation on Earth and has served as a model for countless other nations around the world.”

Do you think the Walker Authority planned it this way? When all you can do is start a letter of inquiry and protest with, “Dear Chief Erwin,” then what we have here is an example of pure legal and political cowardice. That’s how the assembly Democrats started their letter. Here’s a few more lines that should contained in a lawsuit, but aren't:

 “…we have legitimate concerns about policies governing conduct in the Capitol. Refusing to delineate which specific behaviors are subject to arrest or citation, and saying the determination whether or not to arrest or cite people is made on a “case-by-case basis”, seems to suggest that you are simply making things up as you go along. After a Dane County judge ruled Wednesday that merely holding a sign did not meet the Administrative Code definition of “displayed”, and therefore did not require a permit, you shifted tactics ... Earlier this week people were ticketed under different Administrative Code sections dealing with access/passage … The people who received tickets were not given warnings or asked to stop their actions. The vast majority of the citations previously given to demonstrators have been dismissed.

Have any of the tickets already issued … been upheld by the courts?  Continuing to give out such constitutionally-questionable citations is definitely a waste of court resources and could well verge into the territory of police harassment. At the very least, it leads people to believe the administration is using the force of government to silence dissent.

Pretending to be naive over public intimidation is pathetic:

While it may not be your intent, the change of tone … are serving to provoke and escalate … you said the demonstrators were “terrorizing people at this Capitol” in an interview with the Wisconsin Reporter.

The Capitol has a very special, constitutionally-protected role as a forum for people to exercise their rights to speak freely and petition their government.  Civility does not mean that those who disagree with the government should sit down, be quiet, and let the administration do whatever it wants.  The Administrative Code and the Wisconsin State Facilities Access Policy cannot supersede the state and federal constitutions.

I just want to scream. In the meantime the intended chilling effect of the Walker Authority's rules are working. Don't expect any help from the ACLU either, after seeing their wimpy whining in a video at the Daily Kos:

The other day, at least one of the officers apparently snapped under the pressure and threatened an ACLU legal observer.

A similar letter to the one above from Rep. Chris Taylor to Chief Erwin ends with "...we look forward to meeting with you."  Real effective.

Sue the bastards, now.