So it’s been a few months since the last update on my Robert W. Kastenmeier courthouse experience.  After not hearing from anyone for about 6 weeks, on February 10th, 2010 I called the offices of Representative Baldwin and Senator Feingold.  Two days later I received a letter with a number of pages from Representative Baldwin.  Click the picture to read it full size.

In it she recaps what has happened so far and then says that her office received a reply letter from the Department of Homeland Security on January 6th.  Would have been nice if they would have forwarded it to me when it was received.

Apparently the Federal Protective Service, part of DHS, provides security at the vast majority of US courthouses but not Kastenmeier, which is protected by the US Marshall service.  The current U.S. Marshal told an aide to Representative Baldwin that he considered the case closed because of Judge Crabb’s letter (page 1, page 2) from November 5th.  It should be noted the the Marshal the aide spoke to is Mr. Steven Fitzgerald, who is different than the one interviewed by Bill Leuders for his Isthmus article.

The letter to Representative Baldwin from DHS is below, click to see it bigger.

First, the letter reveals that the Federal Protective Service has “no record or contact with Mr. Zytkiewicz”.  Well, that’s good because I never gave anyone my name, they’d only know it from the letters.

It goes on to say that while FPS provides security for 800 courthouses, the Robert W. Kastenmeier courthouse is one of seven pilot facilities where security is provided by the U.S. Marshal service.  Well, isn’t that interesting.  How many parts of our government don’t know what the hell is going on with other parts of the government?  First it was GSA, then it was DHS, now it’s the U.S. Marshal service with is under the Department of Justice.

The letter then goes on for almost a paragraph about the often repeated lie that terrorist use photography.

“Therefore, as a precautionary measure, FPS personnel may approach individuals photographing Federal buildings in an attempt to ascertain their reasons for photographing the facility, so as to protect against security compromises.”

This is just so ludicrous.  Much better writers than I have written pages and pages about why idea’s like this don’t work.  Just a few days ago Stephen Haynes wrote a wonderful piece about Security Theater.

Now the last sentence of the paragraph is very interesting.  It may even be useful to photographers to print out this letter and carry it with them.

“Unless there is a reasonable belief that criminal or terrorist reconnaissance activity is involved, FPS guidelines regarding this issue prohibit FPS personnel from taking any enforcement action, including detaining persons or seizing cameras or film.”

Now, I’m not a lawyer, and have no legal training.  But I do know that reasonable belief, and reasonable suspicion are closely related.  Meaning that FPS personnel and law enforcement officers must have specific evidence that would lead a reasonable person to believe that you have committed, are committing, or about to commit a crime.  I highly doubt that taking pictures of a public building, standing on public property, making no attempt to conceal your actions would lead anyone to believe you are a criminal.

So now I guess I write some letters to the Mr. Fitzgerald, the U.S. Marshals service, and Attorney General Eric Holder.

The story of my experience at the Kastenmeier Courthouse has gone mainstream.  There is an article in this weeks Isthmus, a weekly local paper here in Madison, WI.

Much of the story is taken from my blog and an interview I did with reporter Bill Lueders.  However, Lueders was able to talk with Chief Deputy U.S. Marshall Kirk Papenthien.

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Kirk Papenthien notes that many people photograph Madison’s federal courthouse, with its distinctive steel-blue façade and whimsical touch of red neon. Not all are asked who they are and what they’re doing. (Isthmus wasn’t, in taking the photo that accompanies this story.)

But Papenthien says some picture-takers trigger inquiries, “to let people know there is a security presence.” He admits people can come after hours and other times the building is closed without this occurring.

But if taking photos of the courthouse is allowed, why did the guard tell Zytkiewicz to stop taking pictures and threaten to summon police? Papenthien, who’s read the blog account, says, “I have no knowledge as to whether that is an accurate transcript.” And even if it were (it is — Isthmus heard the recording), Papenthien isn’t saying the guard overstepped because “I have no knowledge what he [Zytkiewicz] was taking pictures of.”

Interesting quotes I would say.  How many people don’t know there’s a security presence at a federal courthouse?  You can see the guards and metal detector while standing on the sidewalk across the street through the large clear glass front entrance. And there’s at least 8 security cameras.  They’re not little either, those are about twelve inches long. And after hours this won’t happen?  Really?  So Saturday’s the court is in session?  Cause that’s when another photographer was stopped and questioned.  And that was back in 2007.

And if you’re that concerned about security why only question people during business hours?  Do terrorists only work during business hours?  And then to come out and say it in the paper, almost inviting people with malicious intent to come out at night, you won’t be questioned.

And then he questions my accuracy while seemingly defending the guard while protecting his own ass.  Saying he has “no knowledge” of what I was taking pictures of.  With all those security cameras they no exactly where I walked and where I pointed my lens.  Is there no communication going on among security personnel at the courthouse?  You would think that if i was deemed a threat they would have a record of it somewhere.

So would you like to see the pictures I took Deputy U.S. Marshall Kirk Papenthien?  Can you tell me exactly what type of pictures would allow a guard to tell me “Don’t take one of the building.” and “ I’ll get a hold of Madison PD they’ll come and talk to you.”?  Is there some part of that building, a building which is set right along a public sidewalk, a building that anyone can walk up to and touch, a building set in the heart of Wisconsin’s capital city, a building next to a parking garage that holds over 600 cars, a building that is seen by hundreds, possibly thousands of people each day, is there some part of THAT building that is so important, that a picture of it is a security threat.  Tell me Deputy U.S. Marshall Kirk Papenthien, what part of the building would that be?