Protest against stay-at-home restrictions set for Friday as Republican impatience grows

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Swarms of protesters plan to gather Friday on the state Capitol grounds in defiance of Gov. Tony Evers’ extended stay-at-home order, despite warnings that holding the mass gathering could increase the spread of COVID-19 and make reopening the economy more difficult.

Republican leaders have mostly avoided criticizing the event, which is similar to recent protests in other states driven by conservative groups. But while some Democratic leaders have criticized the event citing the well-established health risks, Evers has characterized it as people expressing their First Amendment views.

Friday’s rally comes as Republicans have pressured Evers to loosen restrictions on businesses to ease the economic pain caused by COVID-19 and the business shutdowns that health experts have said are necessary to mitigate spread of the respiratory disease.

Evers recently extended his stay-at-home order, which was scheduled to end Friday, until May 26, and later put out a plan for how the state would eventually ease up on restrictions.

A national Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted April 17-19 among 1,597 American adults found 60% of respondents disagreed with the protesters, while 22% supported them. It also found 71% say stay-at-home orders should be lifted when public health officials are fully able to test and trace new cases and outbreaks, compared with 29% who said it should open as soon as possible to prevent further economic damage. The margin of error was about +/-3 percentage points.

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Republican plan

State Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business lobby, will soon unveil a plan to allow Wisconsinites to begin returning to work. Kapenga said the plan is “data-driven” and was crafted with the input of business groups and the medical community.

Republicans on Thursday urged Evers’ to work with them on an emergency rule, which would require some legislative approval, to address the COVID-19 crisis instead of relying on unilateral orders in which they have no say.

According to a version released Thursday, the plan is dubbed “Back to Business” and is in part meant to provide a weekly tool that every organization and business can use to determine what level of precautions to establish to open safely.

The draft plan would score Wisconsin businesses on their risk, rating them as “minimal,” “moderate“ or “substantial” according to key factors such as health care capacity, infection rate, population density in their region and the concentration of people within the organization.

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A draft version of the plan provides an example of a Waukesha hair salon rated as “moderate” and could operate with up to 60% capacity, encourage staff to work from home, implement social distancing measures, limit large work gatherings, curb non-essential travel and consider regular health checks, such as temperature and respiratory symptom screening of staff and visitors entering, if possible.

Conservatives have increasingly complained that people in suburban and rural areas of the state shouldn’t have to pay the price for higher rates of COVID-19 infection in the state’s urban areas.

Evers said Thursday his administration continues to look for more flexibility to reduce restrictions before May 26.

“We believe that the best way to move this state forward is to attack the disease, attack the virus,” Evers said. “While we’re doing that, we’re also looking for every flexibility we can find to dial back things that may be restricting businesses from opening or expanding.”

Political tightrope

While most Republican leaders have gotten louder in calling for changes to the state response to the pandemic, they have walked a political tightrope over Friday’s rally, somewhere between stoking the flames of opposition to Evers’ response but not going so far as to side with health experts and openly condemn attendance.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, came closest to discouraging attendance, telling The New York Times he has “fear and respect” for the illness and is not encouraging anybody to attend the rally.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who earlier this week asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to suspend Evers’ order, did not respond to requests for comment on the Friday protest.

But Vos told The New York Times that the planned protest represents a bipartisan uprising among Wisconsinites who own small businesses and want to work. In that interview, he declined to say whether participating in the protest is safe.

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“I’m not a doctor,” he told the newspaper. “I think people should make their own choices.”

Earlier this month, Republican President Donald Trump expressed support for protests against COVID-19-related restrictions in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia. He tweeted “LIBERATE MINNESOTA” as a protest group by the same name planned demonstrations.

Patrick Remington, professor emeritus at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said gathering to protest is unequivocally a health risk for protesters and those with whom they come into contact.

“If people want to go out and gather in large groups, they are without question increasing their risk of getting an infection, and that’s what the science tells us,” he said. “They also increase the risk once infected of infecting others.”

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke’s chief of staff Rusty Schultz said the Kaukauna Republican does not plan to attend the scheduled protests but respects people’s rights to voice their opinion. He also encouraged those who do participate during the pandemic do so safely and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, said by not addressing the protest Republican lawmakers are complicit in the public health dangers.

“My Republican colleagues aren’t going to do anything to alienate these people,” Hintz said. “If you want to open things, why don’t we all do everything possible to help achieve those things?”

Evers said Thursday he celebrates people’s ability to exercise their First Amendment rights but again urged participants to practice social distancing by keeping 6 feet apart. He said he doesn’t expect police to be out enforcing those measures.

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Other conservative-aligned groups, such as the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, aren’t involving themselves in the protests.

“There’s two very tribal camps out there, and they sort of pigeonholed everybody into one side or the other: Either we open tomorrow or we stay closed indefinitely as we are,” said Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin director Eric Bott. “I think that’s a false choice.”

Safety concerns

Public Health Madison and Dane County spokeswoman Sarah Mattes issued a warning against attending the protest, arguing that staying home as much as possible provides the quickest path to reopening the economy.

“We understand that people are frustrated, but during a pandemic, a mass gathering is a dangerous way to express frustrations,” Mattes said in an email. “We recommend that everyone in our community stay home as much as possible and avoid going out except for essential trips — which this is not.”

For those who must leave their homes, Mattes reminded them to practice social distancing, wear a cloth face cover, avoid touching common surfaces and cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue or elbow.

While criticism of Evers’ stay-at-home order has increased, some of its critics, such as Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, don’t endorse attending the rally, and urge proper social distancing if people still choose to attend.

On Monday, the Capitol Police Department denied a permit request for the protest, which estimated a crowd of more than 1,000 people, as such an event would not abide by the state’s “safer at home” order.

Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said officers plan to monitor the event. The National Guard has not been asked to assist with any response to the protest.