MADISON, Wis. – A few hundred pro-union protesters left the Wisconsin Capitol peacefully on Sunday, but police stood by as hundreds more remained in defiance of a deadline state officials set for clearing the building after a nearly two-week-long sit-in.
The state agency that oversees the Capitol asked the throngs of demonstrators who have camped out at the Capitol since Feb. 15 to leave by 4 p.m., saying the building was in dire need of a cleaning.
But in the hours before the deadline came and after it passed, it was clear most protesters did not intend to leave voluntarily and police had no immediate intention of forcing them to go.
"I suspect they're going to try to wait as long as possible, so people will leave because they're hungry," said 40-year-old Madison coffee-shop owner Jon Hain, who said police were no longer allowing protesters to bring in large amounts of food and drink.
Before the deadline arrived, a medic instructed the crowd how to prepare for the worst. She told demonstrators to clench their firsts so handcuffs or restraints would not cut off the blood flow and to remove contact lenses in case police sprayed anything that could harm their eyes.
Police standing nearby said none of that would be necessary, and Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs said no one had been arrested as of about 5 p.m. He said officers would continue trying to get protesters to leave voluntarily, but he deflected questions about whether police would eventually begin making arrests.
Sue Knetsch, 53, of Waupaca, said she stayed away from the Capitol throughout the nearly two weeks of protests, but that she brought her 21-year-old son, Taylor, to the Capitol on Sunday as a lesson in democracy. She said they expected to get arrested together.
"I just want him to know you can do something — his generation is walking around passively saying, 'It doesn't matter,'" said Knetsch, who said she had been arrested at age 17 while protesting the Vietnam War. "This is awesome. I'm a little nostalgic."
At 4 p.m., organizers who commanded a microphone on the ground floor urged people to remain until police physically tapped them on the shoulder and asked them to leave. Some individuals left in groups of 10 or 20, while most remained behind. Hundreds of other protesters watched from one floor above, the informal gathering place for those who expected to be arrested.
As the deadline passed, hundreds of protesters on the Capitol's upper floors picked up their energy level, chanting "peaceful protest," and "Whose house is this? Our house." At one point, the crowd sang the national anthem. Many said they were prepared to be arrested.
Others decided to leave once it became clear police were not going to immediately force anyone to leave. Rusty Johnson, 35, of Arena, said after nearly two-day straight inside the Capitol, he needed to get home to see his two kids and get ready for work on Monday.
"If I had expected us to be able to maintain this occupation, I would have made different arrangements," Johnson said. "This didn't come down like we were expecting."
Police did not make any effort to force protesters to leave the upper floors. But when protesters walked down to the ground floor, they generally were not allowed back up. Law-enforcement officials stood in groups of two and three in front of every entrance and stairwell, monitoring the commotion and preventing people from entering the building.
Protesters began camping out inside the normally immaculate Capitol two weeks ago in an effort to fight legislation proposed by Wisconsin's new Republican governor, Scott Walker, that would strip most public employees of the right to collectively bargain.
Labor leaders and Democratic lawmakers say the bill is intended to undermine the unions and weaken a key Democratic Party base.
Walker argues the Republican-backed measure would help close a projected $3.6 billion deficit in the 2011-13 budget, and that freeing local governments from having to collectively bargaining with public employee unions would give them the flexibility needed to deal with deep budget cuts.
The bill stalled in the state Senate when its 14 Democratic lawmakers fled the state for Illinois, leaving the legislative body one vote short of a quorum. The Democratic senators have vowed to stay away from Wisconsin for as long as it takes.
One of the Democrats, Sen. Lena Taylor, tweeted her support to the protesters who remained: "Thank you for exercising your 1st amend right - I'm glad my actions give you opportunity to stand/sit/express yourself!"
Authorities had planned to reopen the Capitol on Monday at 8 a.m. But David Vines, a 19-year-old freshman at the nearby University of Wisconsin-Madison, worried that any lost momentum would be difficult to recapture.
"It's so difficult to organize something like this. Any break to the momentum could be a cut to morale," Vines said. "I hope I'm wrong but I think the occupation will die."
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Associated Press writer Patrick Condon contributed to this report.
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