More than 24 hours after the Department of Administration closed the Capitol to the public, dozens of protesters remained inside Monday, refusing to leave until the police arrested or forcibly removed them.
At 4 p.m. Sunday, when the Capitol was scheduled to close for cleaning, some protesters with microphones urged their fellow supporters to leave the building in keeping with the peaceful and legal sentiments of the movement. However, a rebellious few vowed to stay put and prepared themselves to be arrested, though none were.
""If we leave, and they don't let other people in, then it shrinks even more,"" protester Chris French said. ""And they kind of want us to leave, like, with hope. They told us this morning that they would be letting people in at eight, and so a couple people left. I left at seven. I assumed people would be coming in, but it was just another lie. They're trying to restrict access, and they're trying to get people to leave through lies.""
French made it back in the building when a Democratic assemblywoman, who herself had trouble getting into the building, told the police officer she was allowed to bring in eight people. Other protesters took a similar route by visiting their representative and then refusing to leave.
Protester John Berg, planned to go home briefly in the morning after the Capitol reopened to the public, which didn't happen. He said many others made the mistake of going outside and were not let back in.
Police, who demonstrators said had been respectful, prevented protesters from going into the upper levels of the Capitol, though a few people remained there from the day before. Protest leaders had to negotiate with police for time intervals when they could take food into the building. So far, there has been plenty to go around.
The walls of the Capitol remained covered with protest signs and banners draped over the rotunda. Inflatable mattresses with sheets and pillows could still be found throughout the hallways. One mattress in a corner was surrounded by drawings of a dresser, a bookshelf, house plants and other household amenities.
