As Gov. Scott Walker delivered his budget address Tuesday evening, thousands of protesters stood outside the Capitol vying for their chance to enter the building under new restrictions limiting public access to the building.
A Dane County Circuit Court judge issued an injunction Tuesday morning ordering the Wisconsin Department of Administration to reopen the Capitol to the public during normal business hours and while governmental matters, including hearings, are being conducted, a statement from the DOA said.
DOA spokesperson Tim Donovan said unless visitors had an appointment scheduled with a legislator or someone else with an office at the Capitol, or were attending a hearing with a ticket, access remained restricted based on the number of people currently in the building.
“Visitors were allowed inside the Capitol on a one-in, one-out basis,” Donovan said. “This was done to maintain the number of people inside the Capitol at a level where the law enforcement believed they could maintain the safety and security of those inside.”
Donovan said he did not have estimates for how many people were either inside or outside the Capitol Tuesday, but said there was at least one incident in which a visitor who had become agitated by the restrictions was either expelled from the building or arrested.
The DOA also received a number of phone calls complaining about the restrictions, Donovan said. He said many people felt no one was being allowed inside the building – a rumor Donovan said was not true. Several protesters were not able to enter because no one was exiting.
Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney said his deputies were not receiving sufficient information about why they were ordered to keep protesters out of the building.
“I am a law enforcement officer, so I know the importance of restrictions, but the problem here is the lack of communication because the rules keep changing,” Mahoney said. “People become agitated because they don’t have information, so they make up their own information and it snowballs from there.”
Mahoney said the lack of communication created an issue for his deputies Tuesday because his officers were constantly asked to clarify the restrictions without adequate information.
Mahoney said he pulled his deputies from guarding the Capitol doors because he did not feel it was appropriate for his officers to stand in front of locked doors without any information as to why they were required to do so.
He said his officers were called to the Capitol to ensure public safety, so he ordered his staffers to mingle through the Capitol Terrace and sidewalk.
While the Sheriff’s Department deputies did not make any arrests Tuesday, Mahoney said the crowd was becoming “anxious and agitated.” He added Dane County deputies have reported a significant increase in tension, but no fights broke out and no attempts at rushing the door had been made.
Those members of the public who were allowed to enter the building were forced to go through a security process and metal detectors, Mahoney said.
Democratic lawmakers also reported frustration with the restrictions for entering the building, saying they had trouble getting to work.
“Many members on our side of the isle had a hard time getting in today,” said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, on the floor of the Assembly before Gov. Scott Walker’s budget address Tuesday. “I feel compelled to bring it up because if we cease to follow our rules, we cease to be a country of law.”
Barca went on to say the restrictions could be a violation of the Open Meetings Law.
