Hundreds Gather to Protest Extended ‘Stay-at-Home’ Order at Wisconsin’s Capitol

About 1,500 people formed a crowd on the Madison Capitol lawn Friday to protest Gov. Tony Evers’ extended Stay-at-Home order, according to the Wisconsin Capitol Police.  

On the day the order was initially supposed to be lifted, small business owners and people from small towns rallied together to express their concerns about the extended order which is now in effect until May 26. The New York Times described the crowd to be wearing Trump merchandise, toting guns, waving American flags and carrying signs with the tea party emblem. Some people were wearing personal protective equipment, but many were not.  

Videos from multiple news sources showed vehicles backed up around the streets of the capitol, honking and yelling from their windows in support of the “Rally to Reopen”.  

Restaurant and business owners around the capitol square told WKOW that they temporarily closed or did pick-up orders in the back allies while the protest was happening.  

Evers denied a request for a permit to protest for 1,000 people, and because of that, police wouldn’t allow the city to unload porta-potties at the event.  

Protesters told NBC15 News that rural communities weren’t impacted by Covid-19 as greatly as the bigger cities in Wisconsin; therefore, their towns should be able to reopen. Some said they have been laid off from their jobs and are struggling to support their families. Small business owners are worried that they will have to shut down their life’s work for good.  

About 393,000 Wisconsin residents have lost their jobs since March 14, according to NBC News.

Multiple people who spoke at the protest said they didn’t understand why small businesses were forced to be closed, but big corporation stores like Walmart were allowed to be open, according to NBC 15.  

There have been similar protests in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and other states, but Madison’s was the largest to date, according to The New York Times.  

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes told MSNBC that even though neighboring states like Minnesota are opening up in phases, Wisconsin can’t do that yet because there have been events like the in-person election which happened about two weeks ago.  

In a video press release that TMJ4 posted, Evers explained the Badger Bounce Back plan to reopen the state. 

“We can’t think of this like flipping a light switch,” Evers said.  “It’s like turning a dial. The more disciplined we are now, the faster we can turn it.” 

TMJ4 reported Saturday that there has been the largest one-day increase of Covid-19 cases in Wisconsin with 331 tests that have come back positive in 24 hours.  

Counter-protestors lined the rally with signs that read, “Reopen Kills”. 

The night before the rally on Friday, healthcare workers counter-protested by placing 1,300 candles along the capitol stairway, one for every person who has been hospitalized in Wisconsin due to complications with the Coronavirus, according to NBC 15 News.  

Coley Heiliger who is a Madison resident and works at Meriter Hospital spoke out on Facebook in disagreement with the protest. 

“I understand that this sucks and we want to get the economy going again, but there are other ways to protest,” Heiliger said. “Make calls to your government or make an online petition. You may say that’s ineffective, well so is standing outside.” 

The protest was promoted on conservative radio shows and through Facebook event pages. Paris Procopis is one of the admins for the private Facebook group called “Reopen Wisconsin Freedom Rally”. Procopis posted multiple videos of himself at the rally to his Facebook. 

“We’re here protesting the governor’s massive over-reach,” Procopis said. “We have to get people out working and providing for their families and let them start providing products for people to buy.” 

Another Facebook group called “Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine” has over 100,000 members. The description says, “Politicians are on a power trip, controlling our lives, destroying our businesses, passing laws behind the cover of darkness and forcing us to hand over our freedoms and our livelihood!” 

Wisconsin’s republican leaders are suing Evers for extending the order saying the order is “eroding the economy”, according to WUWM. 

Evers posted to his Facebook explaining why the order has been extended. 

“Safer at Home is working,” Evers said. “We need to continue this good work so we can prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, finish building up the tools we need to manage the virus and begin phasing in industries and restoring our economy.”