Published on Aug 19, 2013
http://www.democracynow.org – More than 200 people have been arrested at “Solidarity Sing Along,” an ongoing protest at the Wisconsin state capitol against Republican Gov. Scott Walker. On Thursday, Matthew Rothschild, editor and publisher of The Progressive magazine, was detained while covering one of the protests. Rothschild was charged with misdemeanor obstruction and resisting arrest after photographing the arrests of other demonstrators singing in the rotunda.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We end today’s show in Madison, Wisconsin, with Matt Rothschild, editor and publisher of The Progressive magazine. He was arrested Thursday when covering a protest at the Wisconsin Capitol against Governor Scott Walker. Matt Rothschild was arrested on a misdemeanor obstruction and resisting arrest charge and released on $300 bail after photographing the arrests of other demonstrators singing in the rotunda. He wrote about the experience in an article called “[Governor Scott] Walker’s Cop Nabs Me for Being a Reporter.” Matthew Rothschild joins us now via Democracy Now! video stream.
What happened, Matt?
MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD: Hi, Amy. Thanks for having me on.
Well, it was kind of crazy on Thursday. It’s been crazy in Madison for two-and-a-half years now, and it got crazier in the last three weeks because Scott Walker’s Capitol cops have started to crack down on these Solidarity Singers. The Solidarity Singers have been singing in the Capitol—they should be in the Guinness Book of World Records. They’ve been there for two-and-a-half years now, every day, Monday through Friday. Fridays, they go outside. On Thursday, they were inside, and I was there. I’ve been covering them over the last two-and-a-half years. And over the last three weeks, I’ve been down there six or seven times.
So, I went there with my reporter’s pad and my—you know, my iPhone, doing what we do as reporters. I was taking pictures of people with interesting signs and then taking quotes from the people who were carrying those signs. And then the cops came in and started to arrest one of these Raging Grannies, elderly women who have been active around the country singing protest songs at demonstrations. And one of these Raging Grannies, I happen to know. Her name is Bonnie Block. So, whenever the police are arresting people, I get out my iPhone and take pictures. I was doing that, and then they were moving Bonnie Block out down a hallway toward an elevator—this is in the Capitol, a public space—and I was following them down there, and I was taking pictures. And they said, “You can’t come here.” And I said, “Well, you know, I’m a reporter. I’m with The Progressive magazine.” They said, “No, you can’t come here.” I said, “I’m with the press. I have a right to be here.”
Published on Aug 7, 2013
As the Solidarity Singers continue to stand up against the Scott Walker regime with risking to sing in the Capitol Rotunda in Madison, Wisconsin and getting arrested, handcuffed and photographed, the new “policy” is to arrest even those American citizens who are only photographing the event. Featured is a Veterans For Peace veteran being arrested and taking down his flag. Pol Pot would be proud.
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