Walker was not held accountable for those crimes and the media has done everything it can to flush that story down the memory hole. Strange stories came out immediately before Scott Walker's State of the State address -- that Walker was receiving death threats. Curiously, none of these threats were being investigated -- evidently none were serious.
Did Scott Walker finally find away to use a plant to disrupt protesters and empower an even greater crackdown?
VOICES started hearing about Kvon Smith and his arrest the afternoon of Walker's State of the State address. We had a reporter on the square when the Solidarity Sing along began its daily song at noon, but this person declined to enter -- there were 2 police officers standing by the State Street entrance and the situation didn't look right.
We did talk to people about the incident that afternoon and since them -- people that spend much of the day in the rotunda.
When today this writer say Capper's post at Cognitive Dissonance about the affair, (h/t), we decided that it would be helpful to share what we've learned first-hand and from people that saw the events unfold. Please look at Capper's post in the previous link for details.
Immediately that afternoon, people were wondering if this was a set-up. As Capper points out -- Capitol Police stopped an African American man for no other reason than the was an African American in the Capitol that day. This man was not the suspect, yet the police hassled him even when it was documented he was the suspect -- remember, media reports claim there was a "tip" from the actual suspect's FaceBook page.
The man is the suspect, Kvon Smith, is reported by his family as being mentally unstable -- the media has reported that the family contacted authorities to suggest that, if he was involved with this type of incident, it must be because he wasn't taking medication -- Kvon Smith has mental health issues.
And while Kvon is being reported in the media as having Molotov cocktails -- homemade explosive, by definition, these are improvised incendiary weapons.
It is now being reported that there was nothing flammable in what the police are calling "Molotov Cocktails". This means Kvon DID NOT ACTUALLY HAVE MOLOTOV COCKTAILS.
And if Kvon garnered the attention of authorities via a FaceBook post, why did the police wait to apprehend him IN the capitol when he is reported to have been loosely associated with the daily gathering of signatures?
SCOTT WALKER HAS BEEN RECORDED ADMITTING THAT HE AND HIS COHORTS HAVE CONSIDERED USING AGENT PROVOCATEURS FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF QUELLING DISSENT (video report HERE).
Last year, VOICES had reporters in the Capitol during Scott Walker's State of the State address -- the yelling and protests were so loud that you could not hear the address even though it was being piped into the Rotunda via a public address system. These protests were heard loud and clear during Scott Walker's presentation. Even using the magic of digital audio techniques -- the noise was still apparent on recordings, especially when a person spoke out against Walker and the door to the chamber were opened to expel them.
As a result of this threat -- the Capitol was essentially shut down that afternoon -- people did not gather in the Rotunda this year. They were not allowed to because of what reasonably appears to be trumped up charges against a mentally unstable individual that actually posed no threat to anyone.
But worse -- since Tuesday, the Capitol Police have stepped up their arrests of peaceful protesters in the Capitol. Not only are they takin' names, makin' a list, checkin' it twice, and showing an unnecessary display of force when the daily sing-along assembles, but they arrested 2 peaceful protesters for holding harmless signs.
One, a Viet Nam veteran was holding up a piece of cloth with a simple statement written on -- it was essentially the size of a handkerchief that might be wrapped around one's head. Another man had is paper banner confiscated -- not the first -- and police told him that each and every confiscated banner was being cataloged and saved with his name on it, evidently to be used as evidence against him. There are videos of these incidents online.
Because Scott Walker can be shown to be deceptive, divisive, and now needs to escape public accountability for the fact that his closest aides are being sentenced to jail time for crimes they committed to launch Scott Walker's political career.
But the bigger problem is a media environment that is devoid of real news -- Scott Walker's "rock star" status is contrived and Walker is propped up with propaganda -- a media echo-chamber built around Lee Enterprises, Journal Communications, Gannett, and Clear Channel.
The Kvon situation is more than curious -- it is very disturbing.
- If Kvon was a threat, identified via a FaceBook post, why did the police detain the wrong person and waste time when it should have been clear this was not there suspect.
- Are Capitol Police racially profiling?
- For what purpose were reports of "death threats" released and then disseminated across the state via the pro-Walker media echo-chamber?
- If the release of those "threats" was appropriate, why were none investigated as actually being serious and legitimate?
- For what purpose were the Capitol Police told to watch for an African American man, yet they allowed "suspects" to enter the Rotunda BEFORE any questioning?
- Why were those questioned about this allowed to mingle with the Solidarity Singers before they were approached? Remember, the media is telling us that the "suspect" was reported to have homemade bombs.
- If the items in Kvon's backpack actually did not contain any substance that would be dangerous, why were they reported across the state as "4 Molotov Cocktails"?
- Given nothing dangerous was found and even Capitol Police allowed "suspects" to enter the Rotunda and mingle with people, why was it necessary to close off any enterance to the Capitol?
- What was the impact this has on those that would have wanted a presence in the Rotunda that night -- clearly, the result of this incident was to prevent the public from gathering in "their" house during a speech about THEIR state.
- If there was actually no threat of danger (no Molotov cocktails) why are Capitol Police now more vigorously enforcing a questionable DOA set of rules that has not been legally demonstrated to have the rule of law behind it.
Given that the state media deceptively shields Scott Walker from any scrutiny over his role in ongoing investigations into crimes behind his ascent to power, it is clear that there will be no outcry for an investigation -- at least not from media sources.
And Scott Walker has already admitted what he things of the rest of us -- "divide and conquer". It appears that may be what happened last Tuesday.
[UPDATE] Giles Goat Boy over at Daily Kos has photos of and important information. It turns out the initial African American arrested at the Capitol is an acquaintance of VOICES TV and a candidate for alder on Madison's Common Council. He was is a bright, articulate young man -- a student at MATC.
The "official" story from Capitol Police is that extra help was on-duty that day because of Walker's speech. State Troopers were present. Photos of Kvon Smith were distributed and officers on duty were told to look for him at the entrances -- so why the massive failure to promptly pick out Kvon?
Bowden is disappointed over his detainment and being was incorrectly identified and has posted a petition on Change.org questioning why Capitol Police identified him as a possible suspect:
On January 15, 2013, I, Colin Bowden, was detained in the basement of the WI State Capitol, without being read any rights nor having any explanation why I was there, in handcuffs because I looked like a suspect. The person later suspected of a threat is a young black male, as am I. However, most observers have remarked that we do not look alike. Because I was held in detention for a short time and not beaten nor shot, most attorneys have told me there is no case, and that it's just the way the system works. I disagree. I don't think dragging people down into a basement a la "24" is acceptable protocol for those paid to protect our democratic society.
Without protections for all members of society, we've seen the Capitol police arrest and/or cite people who look alike merely because of their skin color, merely because they are political adversaries, or merely because they were in the Capitol and some protest was happening. This precedent will mean no one is safe in what is supposed to be "The People's House". We must fight this on a broader scale, showing that we care about our rights and the rights of our kin.
Bowden is pictured below on the left; Kvon Smith is on the right:
The two look nothing alike -- the only way to justify detaining Bowden is that Capitol Police were looking for an African American -- ANY African American. At best -- Chief Erwin and his police have shown them to be a bad, unfunny version of the Keystone cops. That is giving them the benefit of the doubt.
At worst, it is racist to the extreme and demonstrates that Capitol Police were more interested in ginning up a crisis and exploiting it to harass the Solidarity Singers and make protesters look bad. As usual, Lee Enterprises is propping up this charade, reporting that "Capitol Police officers immediately identified Smith when he entered the Capitol.".
VOICES has spoken to multiple sources present when this occurred -- in no way did Capitol Police "immediately identify" Smith and even if they had, the question is WHY DID THEY DETAIN BOWDEN FOR ONE HALF HOUR.
Each first-hand report told to VOICES says the same thing -- Kvon was not approached until after he had a chance to establish contact with and blend into the crowd that gathers for a daily sing-along. THIS video confirms that Capitol Police certainly DID NOT "immediately identify" Smith as Lee Enterprises would have you believe.
More. Walker. Propaganda. From. The. Media. Echo. Chamber.
VOICES TV has been working to create some video reports with Bowden on the issues he percieves that Madison should address, including issues related to the city's overall attitude to African Americans -- evidently, he know has more interesting stories to share.
To be clear -- VOICES does not know what happened. Scott Walker is on-record stating that he has considered exploiting trouble makers to silence peaceful and legal protesters. Kvon, by all reports, including statements from his family, is mentally unstable -- especially when not taking medication.
Did Scott Walker finally get his wish, just in time to silence any protests at his State of the State address -- we don't know, but given his promise to "divide and conquer" Wisconsin -- let's not dismiss something like this out-of-hand.
Don't think so? Just look at the bogus coverage that shields him from any real questions about the criminality behind his ascent to power -- Walkergate.
VOICES will be following up with Collin and, should he choose, have more to share.
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