Two UW students were sent to jail Monday after refusing to sign a statement which they interpreted as an infringement upon their right to protest.
Junior Damon Terrell and sophomore Thi Le were arrested on Aug. 25 at the Wisconsin Capitol, the day the budget cuts to state workers went into effect. Damon Terrell's brother, CJ Terrell, was also arrested.
Organizers on Aug. 25 decided to stage a sit-in on the Capitol floor in which protestors refused to get up when ordered. As most of the crowd dispersed, 13 protesters, Le and the Terrell brothers included, refused to stand and were arrested.
They were charged with ""resisting or obstructing an officer,"" according to the Wisconsin Court records. Damon Terrell said he did not know why only the three of the 13 received the charges as others also challenged officers.
The three, who had their pleading hearing Monday, agreed to sign a part of their bond agreement, saying they would not commit any criminal offenses until their trial in two months, which is standard in criminal cases.
But they chose to not sign a stipulation saying they wouldn't violate administrative code because they saw it as an effort to curb their right to protest at the Capitol.
Capitol police could interpret ""administrative code"" as ""picking the Capitol grass.""
Damon Terrell said they didn't agree to following administrative code because it ""change[s] regularly without warning,"" and may not follow state laws.
David Gilbert-Pederson, an Occupy Madison volunteer, said if they signed it, it would ""silence their voices during the fall session.""
""It's sad that this is what you get for standing up for your rights but it's still worth it,"" Damon Terrell said.
At around 9:30 PM, the three were bailed out by a friend and the requirement to sign the stipulation about administrative code was dropped, provided that they show up to their December trial.
Damon Terrell said he did not know why the stipulation was dropped.
