"The heart-shaped balloon community must have heard about the loss of one of its own because it was out in force Tuesday at the Capitol."

"I counted a dozen trapped at the top of the dome and dozens more held fast by some of the 150 or so participating in the 'Solidarity Singalong' in the rotunda."

A day after a Department of Administration employee allegedly stabbed the balloon, shoved its owner, and somehow received a minor injury that scattered his own blood on the Capitol floor, attendance for the daily a cappella airing of grievances was running about twice what it had been, about 150 people, according to organizer Chris Reeder.

"We'll continue to be here every day," Reeder told singers, "even if they attack our heart balloons — or us."

See what happens when you give them a martyr?

UPDATE: The worker who popped the balloon has been arrested.