A dozen Wisconsin activists were arrested on Tuesday, October 25th for silently filming Wisconsin Assembly proceedings from the Assembly gallery. Nine were ticketed for disorderly conduct but three were sent to the Dane County Jail for violating terms of their bail stemming from previous instances of filming from the gallery.
One of those three, Jeremy "Segway Jeremy" Ryan was released earlier because he needed access to medications, but the other two, C.J. "6-Cop-Minimum" Terrell and Thi Le were ordered released today during their bond hearing.
Not a lot of detail yet but here is how one of the activists' family members described it:
The Judge apparently ruled that having a requirement that C.J. and Thi not violate arbitrary administrative codes was inappropriate, especially seeing as they should not have even been arrested in the first place.
YES!
The Assembly is next scheduled to meet in open session on Tuesday, November 1st. Coincidentally, that is also the first day that Wisconsin residents can apply for new concealed carry permits. News reports today indicate that guns will be allowed in certain areas of the Wisconsin capitol building, including the Assembly floor and the Assembly gallery.
Sounds like a perfect day to point out the hypocrisy of the Assembly leadership, doesn't it? They allow guns in their chamber, but no cameras, and no holding up copies of the Wisconsin constitution or the Bill of Rights.
Having no authority, I nevertheless hereby declare November 1st "Concealed Camera Day" in Wisconsin and I urge all citizens to stop in to the state capitol, make their way to the assembly gallery, and quietly, respectfully film the proceedings. Be aware that the possibility of arrest is still an issue, but I'm starting to feel a little guilty that the same dedicated activists are taking all the abuse from the Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature.
Are you in? Let me know in the comments.
Not sure? Perhaps this portion of C.J.'s statement in anticipation of being arrested will convince you...
So it is time for me to make my stand with the hope that others like me will soon follow, and other not so much like me will follow as well. Injustice can only be enacted upon the people if we look the other way and acquiesce to unjust requests made of us by those we perceive to be in power.
I refuse to be a pawn in their game of injustice and so my only real choice is the allow myself to be a slave of their system until enough of my brothers and sisters join me and the hit to their pocketbooks become too great for the greedy to bear. Upon my release I hope to encounter a public made aware of these injustices and prepared to go wherever the perpetrators of these injustices would have us go to silence the voice of reason.
If enough of us are prepared to go, none of us will need to be taken away to prove our point. The time to act is now, as it always is. We need to be the change we want to see.
.