Dylan Brogan
A few dozen people marched around the Capitol to protest Gov. Tony Evers' "safer at home" order. Thousands more are expected to rally at the Capitol on April 24.
Steve from Watertown wears an American flag bandana on his head and carries a Gadsden flag that reads “Don’t Tread On Me.” He is one of around 80 marching around the state Capitol taking a “Sunday constitutional” to protest Gov. Tony Evers’ “safer at home" order. Steve, who didn’t want to provide his last name, tells Isthmus the unprecedented order has “nothing to do” with limiting the spread of COVID-19.
“There is an agenda throughout the world to have a one-world government to do away with borders. To do away with, ‘nationalism and sovereign countries.’ And that is a huge mistake,” says Steve. “This plays right into their game plan. Their playbook. Their agenda is misinformation.”
Steve believes Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of White House Coronavirus Task Force, cannot be trusted and is in the pocket of the philanthropic Rockefeller Foundation and billionaire Bill Gates.
Protests against government orders closing businesses and restricting travel have popped up elsewhere in Wisconsin and several other states. On April 18, hundreds in Brookfield protested Evers’ extension of his “safer at home” order from April 24 to May 26 — which did ease some restrictions on non-essential business by allowing for curbside pickup of products.
Another man, who didn’t want to give his name or say where he’s from, is wearing a bandana over his face; he takes it off while speaking to Isthmus. He, too, believes the public is being lied to by powerful interests. He says Gates owns the World Health Organization (WHO) — a specialized agency of the United Nations founded seven years before Gates was born — and that Fauci works for that agency. Neither claim is true.
“So all of these connections, hmm? Sure seems coincidental. This is a distraction and a cover up,” says the man. “This is a power grab and it's a money grab. We got these central bankers and powerful people. People like Bill Gates. He's not satisfied with just being rich. He wants control.”
The man doesn’t know why Evers is going along with Gates’ alleged plot for world domination “because the data doesn’t make any sense.”
“This is all about hype and fear,” says the man. “People need to be able to see through the smoke of lies that they are being fed.”
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center, as of April 19, reports more than 742,000 people in the United States have been infected by the virus and more than 40,000 have died of COVID-19. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports 4,346 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the state, but that may only be a small fraction of those who are infected; 220 people have died of COVID-19 in Wisconsin since mid-March. Evers says “safer at home” measures are flattening the curve of the virus’ spread and have already saved hundreds of lives in Wisconsin.
At his April 16 media briefing, Evers stressed that sheltering at home has been difficult but necessary in order to prevent a resurgence of coronavirus cases that has overwhelmed the health care system in such states as New York and New Jersey. Evers acknowledged that he is asking Wisconsinites to make sacrifices for the sake of public health.
“Some people may not be getting that message. I just encourage people to understand that if we isolate, if we stay at home, if we make sure we have social distance, you're saving lives and making a shorter time we spend in this situation” said Evers, who added that he doesn’t anticipate a crackdown on protests despite his orders. “First Amendment rights are really pretty cool, and I think it's a good thing…. We are hopeful [protesters] keep a safe distance apart.”
At the April 19 march, people are not staying six feet apart and only a few wear masks. They are carrying signs that read “no tests, no vaccine, no masks,” “mainstream media LIES to you,” and “the government that governs least is best.” Two women march with a small banner that states “Bill Gates + Epstein + Fauci = vaccines.”
At one point a car slows down and someone inside yells “you fucking idiots” at the demonstrators. Protester Dimitra Anderson says she’s also been harassed online for stating that the governor’s order goes too far.
“I didn't choose to live in this country with no logic and to sit idle. I’m exercising my freedom,” says Anderson. “Don’t tell me how to think. Don’t tell me what to do.”
Anderson, a professional belly dancer from the Milwaukee area, emigrated from Greece decades ago. She’s clad in American flag garb from head and toe and carries a sign that says “rebel with a cause.” She doesn’t advance any specific conspiracy theory but says the government orders to stay at home are designed “to control the masses.”
“I turned 60 last week and my party was at Pick ‘n Save with the dairyman and the meatman I’ve known for years,” says Anderson, who tears up. “I’ve lost my liberty and they can’t take that away from me.”
Colin Guest, a recent graduate of UW-Madison, is handing out black T-shirts with “can’t control me” in the center of a word cloud with “quarantine,” “pandemic,” “outbreak,” “COVID-19” and “coronavirus” surrounding it in smaller font. He is asking for donations and says a portion of the proceeds will go to coronavirus research. Guest gave out the shirts at the Brookfield protest, too.
“The message seems to resonate with a lot of people,” says Guest, who now lives in Waukesha County. “I’m just trying to spread some positivity.”
He says it is understandable that federal, state and local governments were slow to know the details of the novel disease that has now spread across the world in just months. But he believes that only vulnerable people should be the ones to avoid crowds.
“I don't think that the government should be the one to enforce people staying at home. I think that needs to come from the individual because if you're not able to govern yourself, you will be governed by a tyrant,” says Guest. “I don't think [limiting the spread of the coronavirus] needed to happen this way. I think it's a huge power grab, and I'm not okay with it.”
This won’t be the last demonstration against Wisconsin’s “safer at home” order. A rally at the Capitol is planned for April 24 — the day Evers’ initial order was supposed to end. One of the organizers, who goes by Madison Marie, says the rally was planned before the governor’s order was extended to May 26. The extension caused interest in the rally to “explode,” says Marie.
“I think there is distrust. I think Gov. Evers is only listening to public health officials and they have tunnel vision. They don't take all of the different angles and aspects into account,” says Marie. “They're focused on physical health. They're not focused on people's mental health right now. They're not economists. They're not in there with regular people like you and me.”
The “WISCONSIN FREEDOM RALLY” Facebook event page shows more than 3,000 people plan to descend on the Capitol square on April 24. While several protesters wore MAGA hats and spouted anti-government rhetoric on April 19, Maria says rally organizers are trying to keep it bipartisan and “there is a wide spectrum of views out there.”
“I feel like we need to come together and decide on something that benefits both sides. That both sides are okay with,” says Marie. “The government is supposed to work for us. It’s not supposed to control us.”
When asked if she thinks thousands of people congregating at the Capitol poses a public health risk, Marie says, “I’m not going to comment on that one.”
“I have full trust in people to use common sense and take responsibility for their own health. If they want to wear masks, they're welcome to. If they want to wear gloves, they're welcome to. If they want people to stand a six-foot distance away from them, that’s up to them,” says Marie. “I will be respecting others wishes. But I'm not going to be taking precautions for myself.”
[Editor’s note: This article originally suggested that Jeffrey Epstein was referenced on a protester's sign. In fact the sign did not include his first name and the protesters would not answer questions so we have deleted the assumed first name.]
