Journalists Targeted and Arrested at Wisconsin State Capital
On June 6th two journalists were arrested at the state capital in Madison, WI.
I was one of them.



I was grabbed by an aggressive and very escalated police officer after walking in to the state capital on Jne 6th. Officer Corcoran told me to leave, to "get out". It was bewildering because I was already in the building and was simply walking by him filming my way in to the rotunda.
He grabbed me aggressively. I told him, in the friendliest voice I could find, that I was with the press. He let me walk by.

I recognized him from the many times I have been in the building over the past four months covering the gentle uprising as it develops and unfolds around Governor Scott Walker's controversial budget repair bill.

Alex Noguera-Garces was assisting me this day, she was also stopped. I told Corcoran that she was with me and was a member of the press. Initially he let her through. When she stayed behind to film his treatment of citizens as they entered the building he grabbed and arrested her. She was hauled away in handcuffs. It came to my attention that she was being taken away. I went to her aid and when I explained that "I was a member of the press" Corcoran let me know that "I could go to". Referring to jail and being arrested like Alex.
Alex was in taken to an elevator. While inside, before the doors closed, she handed me her camera that was dangling in her hand, likely to fall given the situation. I accepted the camera. At that time Corcoran dropped Alex to the ground, lunged at me from the elevator and tackled me. The excessive force he used left bruises on my arms and hips.
Corcoran never gave me a straight answer as to why he grabbed me or why I was being arrested. He changed his story three times between the time I was in the elevator with him and while he processed my and Alex's charges in the basement.

While in the basement I was pushed around by another office. Literally. I was standing talking on my cell phone, calling for support and an officer came in to the hallway, pushed me from behind, shoving me against a table and told me to "calm down".
Is this the new way that reporters and citizens can expect to be treated in the Wisconsin State Capital? The environment was hostile. The exertion of arbitrary authority was overwhelming. Cops pushing citizens and journalists around because they think they can get away with it.
We must let them know that journalists and citizens alike will not be pushed around, we will not tolerate the use of excessive force simply because someone is wearing a badge.
We do not have to leave a public building simply because a man or a woman with a gun and badge tells us to do so. We are critical thinking individuals; we have the right, the ability and the obligation to challenge authority.

Eventually we were both charged with disorderly conduct, given a $263.50 fine and a court date slated for June 17th.
The officer that escorted us out marked us with a blue sharpy. Giving us a blue X on our right hand. He told us we could not re enter the capital that day.

More people were arrested on Monday than in the days when thousands of people occupied the state capital in February and March.

The following day I filed a complaint with Corcoran's superior. Requesting that he be removed from the first line of defense in "protecting" the people and the capital. I suggested that maybe he be given a few days off as he was clearly over extended in his ability to maintain a clear head and make smart choices whilst under pressure. I learned that he was not working that day and that he would also have the following day off. Perhaps his superior was already savvy to his need for a break.

Monday, June 6th was a significant day as it was the first day the Wisconsin Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the legal challenge to the controversial state law that strips collective bargaining rights for public workers.
More than a thousand people paraded around the capital calling attention to Walker's budget stating that it is "a death sentence to the people of Wisconsin".

My work in Wisconsin will continue. In addition to weekly video news stories, I am making a documentary film about the gentle revolution that exists here. I hope it continues to be gentle and that the brave people of Wisconsin will continue to stand up strong and set an example for the rest of the country.

As of October 1, 2008 the U.S. has a new division of military assigned to keep the country safe and maintain crowd control when necessary. The Army assigned the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team to duty within the continental United States.

"The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.

Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home."
More news from the Army Times

After 35 months of training in Iraq, this military branch is now deployed to fight threats in the U.S. such as civil disobedience and massive protests.
This marks the first time an active military unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.

The tricky part is that this initiative is in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act which is often cited as a major constraint on the use of the military services to participate in homeland security, counter terrorism, civil disturbances, and similar domestic duties. This law was created to prohibit the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps from performing any kind of police work or assisting law enforcement agencies to enforce the law.

The 2008 RNC in St. Paul exemplifies that an excessively forceful police presence leads to more violence. The blunt use of force and covert surveillance at the RNC is evidence that the government will take many measures, even preemptive ones, to silence the voices of dissent.

Can someone say Police State? The Government must be planning on huge numbers of people rising up against, take your pick; thousands of homes being foreclosed on while millionaires stay fat and rich, another illegal election process, poor plans to insure a clean energy future, a war with no end in sight, increased media consolidation that allows corporate media to pollute our airwaves and dull our brains, poor health care initiatives, a global political presence that embarrasses us while bullying other countries, further investments in military while a peace economy makes more sense.
You can add to the list of things to be outraged about in the comments section below.

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Burlington Telecom (BT), A local municipal cable provider started carrying the station a little over a year and a half ago.
In late May of this year BT said they would take AJE off the air due to an "inundation of phone calls" - the exact number of calls is unknow.
They have since said that the reasons for wanting to pull AJE off the air are due to "contractual issues".

BT advisory committees held a public forum in response to volumes of community input on June 10, 2008.
Over 50 people attended the meeting, 6 people spoke out in favor of removing AJE and over 35 spoke in favor of keeping it on the air.

In the interest of maintaining their space on the BT line up, AJE Managing Editor, Tony Burman and Military and Current Affairs Correspondent, Josh Rushing, visited Burlington to inform the community about AJE.

Governent Access Television Station CCTV, Channel 17 hosted them on June 11, 2008.

Here are excepts from the live show and public forum -

To watch the Full live program you can go to cctv.org

Burlington Telecom will come to a decision on whether to pull AJE or keep it on the air by June 17th.