One medic instructed the crowd how to prepare for the worst, telling 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 vacate voluntarily, but he deflected questions about whether police would arrest demonstrators who refused to leave.
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 an 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."
As the deadline to leave 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—if it came to that.
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. Hundreds of other protesters watched from one floor above, the informal gathering place for those who planned to be arrested.
Protesters have remained in the building since Feb. 15. They are fighting legislation proposed by Wisconsin's new Republican governor, Scott Walker,that would strip unions 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.
But Walker argues that the Republican-backed bill would help close a projected $3.6 billion deficit in the 2011-13 budget, and that freeing local governments from collective bargaining would give them the necessary flexibility 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.
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Associated Press writer Patrick Condon contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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