A group of protesters were ticketed at the Wisconsin state Capitol on Wednesday. Protests have been an almost daily occurrence in the state Capitol, but there was disruption to a permitted activity on the first floor of the Capitol rotunda, according to Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration. “The Red Cross comes in several times a year at the Capitol, and of course every blood drive that they do is just very crucial to their mission,” she said.
Capitol Police warned 13 protesters who were holding signs. According to Marquis, some of those protesters even grabbed signs promoting the Red Cross blood drive. “Many of those protesters did follow the police requests, but we did have some who did not,” she said. After receiving a verbal warning, seven people were arrested and given a civil citation. Marquis said none of them resisted.
Marquis notes the permitting process has been in place since 1979. Capitol Police Chief David Erwin has vowed to get tough with persistent Capitol protesters when they disrupt other activities in the building.