Announcements

Clarification: we will meet at 10 am at the same location at the Capitol we've used the last two days, but after a short briefing, we will head inside to the office of a key elected official. So get there on time!

Last message for tonight, I promise 😉
To keep the pressure up, we are preparing a lawsuit against the Sheriff for unjustifiable use of force.
🏥 INJURY SUBMISSION FORM
We need to collect thorough documentation of injuries sustained by rescuers. It's important that we capture everything while it's still fresh.
If you were injured or witnessed someone being injured by the use of police force during the action, please fill out this form:

I have some *exciting updates*
First, we are told that members of the Dane County Board of Supervisors will announce tomorrow that they are launching an investigation into the Sheriff's use of unjustifiable force against peaceful protestors. We've been saying for the last two days that with time, the actions by Ridglan and law enforcement would come to be seen as a mistake. I honestly did not expect it would happen this fast. The Sheriff's bosses are basically telling him he f*cked up big time.
This sets the tone for our protest tomorrow morning. This outrageous behavior is happening right on the doorstep of the Governor and the Attorney General. To put further pressure on them, a friend of our campaign just told us he is going to launch a TV ad campaign blasting the Governor for failing to prevent torture of dogs and pepper spraying of grandmas. We are going to turn this into a nightmare for the state's top officials until they finally act.
Also today, Mark Pocan, the congressman for Madison and Ridglan, tweeted saying that the Ridglan dogs must be released and local shelter should start preparing to receive the dogs. This is amazing. Less than 24 hours after his own district's law enforcement were dousing grandmothers with pepper spray to protect Ridglan's evil business, Pocan is saying it must be shut down.
With the county board of supervisors on one hand and the congressman on the other hand, we have the wind at our back. This weekend has created unprecedented opportunity; after 10 years of this campaign, it took yesterday to finally force the relevant decision makers to act. Now it's up to us to ensure they follow through.
We need every person who is still in Madison to join us in a sit-in inside the offices of key leaders at the State Capitol. Most important are all the people who suffered direct violence at the hands of police. We will be appearing not as protesters, but as citizens demanding our elected officials act to enforce the law. Please wear those respectable clothes you were planning to wear at Ridglan, bring any flowers you still have, and prepare to bring our demands in an orderly but assertive way. All signage should be focused on our central message:
FREE THE BEAGLES!
React with a ✋ to this message if you can attend, especially if you were assaulted at Ridglan. We're also looking for a smaller number of rescuers who suffered violence to join the Supervisors' press conference announcing the investigation.

[address fixed]
For those who missed tonight's announcement, here is the plan for tomorrow:
10am: Meet on the West side of the Capitol on State Street (same place as the protest today). We will be protesting AG Kaul and demanding he release the dogs and stop the brutal repression of animal rescuers.
Later in the day, we have heard that the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee is having a meeting to discuss the police brutality that happened yesterday. This may be at 4pm. Will keep everyone posted! 
Lastly, I'm sure many of you are wondering when the people who are in jail are getting out. We do not know yet, but lawyers will be calling again in the morning. It could be tomorrow, but we are not sure yet. If we hear that they're getting out, we'll do what we can to meet them at the jail.

For those who missed tonight's announcement, here is the plan for tomorrow:
10am: Meet on the West side of the Capitol on Sutter Street (same place as the protest today). We will be protesting AG Kaul and demanding he release the dogs and stop the brutal repression of animal rescuers.
Later in the day, we have heard that the Board of Supervisors is having a meeting to discuss the police brutality that happened yesterday. This may be at 4pm. Will keep everyone posted! 
Lastly, I'm sure many of you are wondering when the people who are in jail are getting out. We do not know yet, but lawyers will be calling again in the morning. It could be tomorrow, but we are not sure yet. If we hear that they're getting out, we'll do what we can to meet them at the jail.

Hey everyone, after the last rescue, some of our best press coverage came from rescuers pitching the story to local outlets in the places they live. It could be super high impact to identify some reporters in your city and write them an email explaining you participated in the action and offering an interview.
Here’s a press release some rescuers wrote you can use for pitching! docs.google.com

(near 2396-2424 Erbe Rd, Blue Mounds, WI 53517)

navigate here to park for the vigil. Turn of at Erbe, NOT state road E. maps.app.goo.gl

Here's the schedule for after Ridglan:
2:30-4:00 pm Demonstration at the capitol. We will ask Attorney General Josh Kaul to fulfill his responsibility to stop criminal animal abuse at Ridglan, and ask all state authorities to condemn the extreme violence used yesterday against nonviolent protesters.
~4:15-7:00 pm We will head directly to an indoor location for a collective strategy session with breakout groups discussing next steps in the campaign: press, social media, political pressure, further actions and rescues, and more.
We're still looking for venues that can hold up to 300 if you have any connections. There are some public venues we could use if we can't find anything better but it would be nice to have a room for just us.

Several rescuers have spoken to the Sheriff’s office. We have made it clear to them that we are not attempting to rescue dogs today, and that we will only be demonstrating on public property. They have reaffirmed their previous statement that we can park on Erbe road and walk onto Blue Mounds Rd in front of Ridglan.
If you are too shaken from yesterday to return to Ridglan, that is totally understandable. Otherwise, we will be holding a vigil on the public road from 12pm to around 2pm. We will sing together and rescuers will talk about the long history of violence at Ridglan that reached new heights yesterday.
We will return to Madison for programming in the afternoon, including a protest at the capitol and a collective strategy meeting. Further details to come.

We are currently calling the sheriff's office to determine where we can park and stand today without provoking any sort of violence from them. We'll share an update soon.

Notice: Anyone who was brutalized by police should, if possible, get evaluated by a medical professional who can document their injuries, for the purpose of legal action against the departments involved.

Notice: Anyone who was brutalized by police should, if possible, get evaluated by a medical professional who can document their injuries, for the purpose of possible legal action against the departments involved.