Protests surge as Wisconsin Capitol lockdown extends to downtown Madison [View All]

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Protests surge as Wisconsin Capitol lockdown extends to downtown Madison
Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 03/01/2011 8:32 pm

When the Capitol lockdown started Monday morning, following a successful gambit by protesters to remain ensconced inside the Rotunda the previous night, it was all but certain that the limits on access to the building would seep outside its walls Tuesday. Demonstrations have been building these last two weeks towards Gov. Scott Walker's budget address this afternoon, which would unveil a whole new set of cuts spreading the pain of austerity far beyond public employees. Though a temporary restraining order required the Department of Administration to unlock Capitol doors and open access to the public Tuesday, the state did not alter its rules to get in, claiming that they met legal standards. The matter wound up in court by afternoon, continuing long enough to prevent public access inside the building in advance of Walker's speech, the unstated goal of these policies in the first place.

Amidst the legal dispute, crowds of people gathered outside the King Street entrance to the building all day long, queuing and clustering in an attempt to gain entrance. As their numbers grew through the afternoon, so too did the enormous law enforcement operation in place at and around the Capitol. Around mid-afternoon, a set of concrete traffic barriers was unloaded at the top of West Washington Ave. and set in place at the driveway leading up to the Capitol. More barriers, the standard orange-and-white reflective type, were placed to divert traffic from the Square, as they have been now since the large protests started on Valentine's Day.

One block to the west, an orange mesh snow fence was placed at the top of the steps leading from State Street to the Capitol, blocking off access to most of the plaza outside the building's doors. A line of uniformed officers, mostly state troopers and sheriff's deputies from out-state departments, stood in a line inside this barricade, serving as a human deterrent to access. This type of barrier, rarely seen in protests on the Square, was last used a week ago Saturday to separate the small group of pro-Walker counter-protesters from the massively larger demonstrations surrounding it, and before that, to perform the same function at a neo-Nazi gathering held on Capitol grounds in August 2006.

Two stories above the State Street doors, the curtains to the Assembly chambers where the governor delivered his address were completely drawn. That didn't stop the thousands of assembled demonstrators from cheering and chanting as loudly as they could, in hopes of making their presence heard inside. The "Shame! Shame! Shame!" and "Whose House? Our House!" chants were ubiquitous throughout, and as the speech drew to a close, the crowd joined in chorus to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner," echoing a similar rendition of the national anthem at the colossal rally this past Saturday.

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http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=32565