Three officers from the Wisconsin Capitol Police Department are being sued by a Madison, Wisconsin radio host. Dominic Salvia, who co-hosts a show on The Mic 92.1, was arrested on July 24, 2013 while covering the first day of the crackdown against the Solidarity Sing Along.
The Solidarity Sing Along is a peaceful gathering of people that has occurred every weekday noon hour at the Wisconsin State Capitol since March 11th, 2011. It began as the large protests against Governor Scott Walker's attack on public sector employees began to wane, and had continued for 18 months when Capitol Police declared an "emergency" and began arresting participants and observers.
Details are in the press release below. It is important to highlight that Mr. Salvia was not a participant in the sing along that day (nor any other day, as far as I know). He did not sign the recall petition against Governor Scott Walker, and has said that he voted for Walker in the recall election in June, 2012.
Mr. Salvia has expressed his disappointment with many of Walker's policies and actions while supporting some others. He and his co-host, Michael Crute, exchange friendly banter with guests, callers, and each other, with Mr. Crute usually staking out a more liberal or progressive position and Mr. Salvia taking a more libertarian or conservative position. I hate to label them, because the absence of labels is what makes their show interesting.
They recently garnered national attention by securing interviews with retiring Republican State Senator Dale Schultz, described by many as the last sane Republican in the Wisconsin legislature. Schultz stated, among other things, that he could not defend voter suppression bills recently passed by his majority party and was embarrassed by the passage of the bills.
On a personal note, I have talked with the Devil's Advocates many times on and off the air, and they are sincere about trying to find common ground while not taking themselves too seriously. We all agree that the crackdown on peaceful assembly is wrong.
UPDATE: I almost forgot. The Voice Project did a stunning video of the crackdown story. Check it out and sign the petition!
http://voiceproject.org/...
UPDATE 2: You can listen to the Devil's Advocates podcast here, discussing the lawsuit with their attorney, Jeff Scott Olson:
http://www.themic921.com/...