Today is a very sad day for American history, and for Wisconsin.

This morning a judge ordered the Department of Administration to open up the Capitol:

A judge has granted a temporary restraining order giving the public access to the state Capitol during business hours and while hearings and other state business are being heard.

…

The temporary restraining order by Dane County Judge Daniel R. Moeser was filed Tuesday morning in response to a lawsuit filed by three union groups: Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24 and the AFL-CIO.

The DOA, however, has decided that they don’t have to follow the law:

“My understanding is that procedures outlined in the memo remain in effect unless circumstances may change,” said Tim Donovan, spokesman for the Department of Administration. He said the order has not been served or seen by administration officials.

In a statement later in the morning, the DOA acknowledged receiving a copy of the ruling but said its existing policies “are in compliance with this order.”

The ACLU and the unions are still on the case, but as of this afternoon the Capitol was still closed. Pictures and video are being uploaded now from the ZRC stash.

The Dane County Sheriff and DA are very unhappy about this ongoing seizure of public land:

A visibly indignant Sheriff Dave Mahoney on Tuesday said the Walker administration’s continuing restriction on access to the Capitol “jeopardizes public safety.”

“It’s crucial that individuals have a voice,” he said at a press conference with Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. Otherwise, he said, people could resort to “desperate actions.”

Mahoney praised the law enforcement officers from the Capitol Police and from areas around the state called to provide security over the past two weeks of protest over Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to effectively end collective bargaining by public employees, excluding most law enforcement and firefighting personnel.

But he said the officers blocking access to the Capitol were being put “in the position of being palace guards.”

Mahoney said he pulled his officers from manning the Capitol doors Monday after state officials refused to tell him why the statehouse doors were being locked.

As mentioned above, the ACLU is mad too:

It was unclear how, and how soon, state officials would comply with a Dane County Judge’s ruling to reopen the state Capitol to the general public.

…

But the state is still processing the order, which was served on the state Department of Administration. And as of 11:30 a.m., access was still limited.

“It should be taking effect immediately,” says Dupuis. “That’s the nature of a temporary restrining order.”

…

“I’m sure they’re not going to just open up the floodgates,” he says. “They’re probably going get themselves ready to let people in and put them through some kind of screening. And if they don’t there’s an argument at least that they’re in contempt of court.”

But the only legitimate screeing would be security-related or for safety issues that limit numbers, such as fire codes, he says.

To recap: in blatant and ongoing defiance of a legitimate temporary restraining order, the Department of Administration, following Scott Walker’s lead, has illegally seized control of Wisconsin’s Capitol and held it, using force of arms, against its own citizens.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. Scott Walker and his goons have plunged the state of Wisconsin into anarchy and lawlessness.

(Protesters, incensed over the illegal seizure of their public space by thugs in the Administration)

Update: Flickr set here.
Picture at bottom added.

Tags: Madison Protests

This entry was posted by John Sears on Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 6:26 pm and is filed under ZRC News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.