OK, this is starting to get scary. A state employee confronted a "Solidarity Singalong" protester today inside the Wisconsin capitol building. He allegedly used a knife to pop a heart-shaped red balloon carried by the protester and injured himself at some point during the confrontation.
Drops of blood were visible on the floor of the building near the Supreme Court and down one of the staircases.
Police are treating the area as a crime scene.
Red, heart-shaped balloons have become a symbol of the Wisconsin protest movements after one of them released in the rotunda in February managed to "survive" for months near the top of the dome.
From the Wisconsin State Journal:
The protester, Leslie Peterson, said she had come to the Capitol to join in singing “Solidarity Forever” with the group and was carrying one of the red heart balloons that have become a frequent sight at the Capitol. Peterson said she was posing for a photo when the state worker approached and popped it, apparently with a knife.
“He was stabbing the balloon,” she said. “It was disconcerting.”
She then went to retrieve the “balloon carcass,” she said, and asked the worker for his name so she could file a complaint. That’s when he shoved her into a door, Peterson said.
Read more: http://host.madison.com/...
A spokesperson for the Department of Administration claimed that the unidentified state employee slipped on the stairs and cut himself before the incident, but police are investigating.
The DOA spokesperson then said it would cost 7.5 million dollars to mop up the blood and he blamed the protester.
OK, I made up that last part.
UPDATE: Hat tip to zenbassoon. Brief video from a few days ago showing similar balloons being delivered to legislators' offices:
Also, hat tip to AnnieJo for this link to a detailed eyewitness account posted on BlueCheddar.net:
http://www.bluecheddar.net/...