Assembymen Craig & Farrow trying to stop the Capitol mobss

WISCONSIN LEGISLATUREP. O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707-7882 February 17, 2012 The Honorable Mike Huebsch Secretary Wisconsin Department of Administration P.O. Box 7864 Madison, WI 53707 Dear Secretary Huebsch, We are writing to again express our concerns to the Department of Administration (DOA) regarding the lack of enforcement of the Wisconsin State Facilities Access Policy. As you know, this has been an ongoing issue for many months. Based on a series of recent events in the Capitol building, it is clear that the Capitol Police have proven incapable of uniformly enforcing the security guidelines and access rules set by your department. Not only does this lack of enforcement demonstrate and facilitate a lack of respect for the rule of law in the Capitol, it also endangers the safety of visitors, staff and members of the legislature in the building. As stated in previous correspondence, we continue to note a disturbing pattern of selective enforcement of the Access Policy by Capitol police. Time and again, the Solidarity Singers, organized labor groups, and other protestor-affiliated events have blatantly ignored and outright broken the rules that were to have taken effect December 16th, 2011. For the Capitol police to continually overlook these infractions and capitulate to the demands of the disillusioned few, is tantamount to a violation of rights for the law-abiding citizens who visit the Capitol each and every day. The events listed below are just a few examples of the many egregious incidents: - On February 14, 2012, as reported by the MacIver Institute, several weddings that had permits for use of Capitol facilities were forced to delay their ceremonies. It was later learned that Capitol Police Chief Tubbs had a pre-arranged agreement with the protest organizers, to allow them to amass in the Rotunda and carry on their planned demonstration, with the “mutual understanding” that they would vacate at 1:00pm and respect the scheduled weddings. It should be noted that each wedding party had followed the permit process and had been assured that the Capitol police would ensure the ceremonies could go as planned. To the surprise of no one, the protestors did not hold up their end of the apparent bargain and the noise disturbance continued on well past the scheduled start time for the weddings. Chief Tubbs expressed his frustration to the protest organizers that they had not followed through as was “agreed upon.” We are happy to provide video evidence of this upon request. - On Tuesday, February 14th, Rep. August notified your department of a profound disturbance to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy. This committee meeting took place in Room 300NE. At approximately 12pm, he reported that the singing and screaming that reverberated throughout the Rotunda had become so loud it impeded the hearing proceedings up on the 3rd floor. This was due to the unauthorized protest that was allowed onsite to commemorate the “one-year anniversary” of the 2011 protests. In addition, items that have been expressly banned from the building including drums, trombones, megaphones, and other noisemakers were allowed into the building and confiscated only sporadically, if at all. - On Monday, February 6th, a youth government group hosted by Rep. Farrow was gathered in the North Hearing Room of the Capitol for its annual seminar. The youth group had followed proper Capitol protocols, and reserved the space months in advance for its private use. Two protestors disrupted the event, causing great alarm and disturbance to the children. After repeated efforts by the Capitol police, the offending individuals were removed. These few examples leave us with far too many questions. Why did the Capitol Police Chief have an apparent off-the-books arrangement to allow a planned demonstration inside the Capitol building? Why do the citizens who follow the prescribed process and obtain a permit for scheduled events, such as a wedding, have to take second-priority? Given the concerns we have outlined above, we are asking the Administration to conduct a review into the operations of the Capitol Police, as well as to pursue all appropriate disciplinary actions against those who are found not to be enforcing the Capitol Access Policy in an equitable and uniform manner. Sincerely, Representative David Craig Representative Paul Farrow 83rd Assembly District 98th Assembly District