Wisconsin’s Capitol building has “always been open to state legislators, to come and go as they please,” state Representative Nick Milroy (D), the lawmaker who was tackled by Wisconsin Capitol Police on Thursday night, told TPM in an interview on Friday.
But this week, he says, has been different.
All tackling aside, Milroy’s Capitol key card was disabled on Monday, and he doesn’t know when it will work again — leaving him unable to access the building freely, as he used to do.
On Wednesday, the Capitol Police sent a memo to legislature members saying, “As you know, key card access for Capitol staff was disabled on Monday.” The memo went on:
We realize that Capitol staff members have been inconvenienced by the disabling of key card access, however this step was made necessary because a small number of staff members were seen to be abusing the key card access system by allowing some visitors to bypass building entry procedures.
If Capitol staff members can demonstrate they are willing to follow the procedures for building access that are currently in effect, we will consider temporarily restoring key card access and will monitor compliance to determine whether key card access can be permanently restored.
While the memo made it sound like only staff members’ key cards were turned off, Milroy says his personal card has also stopped working, and he has not been told when it will be reactivated. Capitol Police Public Information Officer Tim Donovan confirmed to TPM that even lawmakers’ key cards are currently disabled. He said plans are still being considered for when the Capitol will return to normal.
“Those plans don’t magically appear after judges issue orders,” Donovan said.
Donovan also explained the reasoning behind the move.
“If you were somebody with a key card and you could open the key card accessible door, you could let in as many people as you wanted to,” Donovan said.
Milroy, whose hometown is a five hour drive from Madison, told TPM that Capitol access was critical to his job.
“When I come down to Madison, I am working usually until 10 o’clock at night,” Milroy said. “I’m frequently in and out of the Capitol.”
Milroy also offered some more context for what happened Thursday.
According to Milroy, he “just wanted to get into my office to get my personal effects.”
When he tried to enter the building, an officer approached him. He showed her his ID, but she told him he was not allowed to enter.
“I said that’s ridiculous,” Milroy said. He walked by the first officer and showed his ID to a second officer, the one who ended up tackling him. According to Milroy, the first officer began to yell that he wasn’t allowed in.
“I told [the second officer] I was a state representative and I needed to get to my office,” Milroy said. “I think there was some confusion going on. I think I was being a little more aggressive than I probably should have.”
Milroy said he sought out the officer who tackled him later on Thursday.
“I told him I’m sorry it got that far, and it shouldn’t have gotten that far,” he said. “He told me that he was stressed out, too.”
Milroy doesn’t blame the officers for what happened, and said law enforcement officers “have been doing an exemplary job” since the protests began. Instead, Milroy places the blame on Walker.
“This is just what happens when you just have such poor leadership from the top down,” he said.
Describing the current situation, Milroy echoed the “armed-palace environment” remark he made in a statement earlier Friday, telling TPM that Gov. Scott Walker (R) has “basically turned the Capitol into a police state.”
Milroy recognized that access to the Capitol was better today.
“They are letting people in, but there are still hundreds of officers in the Capitol,” he said. “It’s very similar to trying to get through TSA security.”
Watch a video of Thursday’s incident:
