Both sides of this protest have not backed down. The protests have continued to rage throughout the past week, and Walker still refuses to budge. This week has taken a bit of turn... On Sunday evening, the Capitol doors have closed and they are no longer allowing any of the public to enter on their own. They must be accompanied by an officer to their destination inside, and then escourted outside after their business is concluded.
Around 60 protestors still remain inside the Capitol, allowing cleaning crews to do their jobs, but continuing to peacefully occupy the space which is constitionally theirs to demonstrate upon. As such, other protestors who have not been able to get inside have been sleeping outside the Capitol doors, demanding their entry to the building.
Here's a few photos of the King St entrance on Wednesday night.
Throughout Capitol Square, drums are beaten to the rhythm of democracy. Chants are constant. It's really the calm before the storm. With the Capitol closed, and Walker illegal shuttering people out, the protestors plan for the weekend. And they plan for a massive demonstration Thursday Night as a taste of things to come.
At 5pm, almost 5000 people gathered at the UW-Madison library off State St, and began marching up State St to the Capitol. State St was completely overwhelmed with protestors. They circled Capitol Square, and soon came knocking on the Capitol doors.
The State St entrance to the Capitol was flooded with people. Several folks gave some roaring speeches. However, during one of the initial speeches, someone opened up one of the doors leading inside. Immediately, the crowd rushed the door in hopes of entering the Capitol. 30 or 40 people were actually able to break inside before Capitol Police secured the entrance.
One of our friends was among those that broke into the Capitol. We kept in contact through texts and phone calls. The cops had rounded up all the people that had broken in into a hallway as they continued chanting, "This is what Democracy looks like!" Their group had whittled down to 20. From what we could tell, they were kept away from the general protestors that had been there since Sunday.
As of now, reports indicate that all protestors have left the Capitol "voluntarily". Apparently there are no more protestors inside.
Earlier this week, a judge ordered that the Capitol be open to the public during business hours. Below is a copy of that order taped to the State St entrance of the Capitol. Walker has refused general access to the public all week long, even though Capitol police have stated it has been open during business hours.
Tommorow (Friday) is another day which they've promised it would be fully open to the public. With the weekend of protests set to begin, will they actually open it's doors? Or will they continue to lie?
Previous articles:
Thursday, February 17th - Day 4
Monday, February 21st - Day 8
Tuesday, February 22nd - Day 9
Friday, Feburary 25th - Day 12