MADISON – More than a thousand people cheering "USA" and "open up" gathered on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol on Friday to protest Gov. Tony Evers' restrictions on their daily lives, rallying in close quarters on a day the state saw its highest daily increase in positive cases of coronavirus.

The crowd stood shoulder to shoulder — physically and in solidarity — in defiance of the Democratic governor's order to keep businesses and schools closed, and people apart, in an effort to limit the spread of highly contagious virus for which there is no vaccine.

Circulating among the crowd were petitions to recall Evers and signs that said "All Workers Are Essential" and "Death ... is preferable to communism."

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Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of American flags accompanied the protesters and some openly carried assault-style rifles. A guillotine also was on the Capitol steps among protesters.

About 1,500 people attended the protest Friday, according to an estimate provided by Capitol police that didn't include an estimation of the number of media or bystanders.

"I think this will make Evers respond," Cindy Warner of Milwaukee said of the turnout of people Friday. "People of different backgrounds, races and cultures all want to get back to work. The flu can kill you but so can not eating."

Public health experts say no one should be gathering in groups this large as the highly contagious coronavirus continues to spread through Wisconsin — but it's those limits that are largely driving them to do so.

Scores of businesses have closed or drastically reduced their staffs, leading to hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims. Churches have closed their doors. And about 900,000 children aren't in school.

The virus has infected 5,356 people in Wisconsin and killed 262. But it's largely affecting communities with larger populations — driving resentment among people who live in areas with many fewer cases of the virus and are being subject to the same economic restrictions.

Nurses place candles in silent counter-protest

The same day as the protest, Wisconsin saw its highest daily increase in confirmed positive cases of the virus — 304. Thursday night, nurses lined the state Capitol steps with 1,300 electronic candles in tribute to those currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wisconsin. The candles were meant to be a silent counter-protest.

Friday's protest also has political motivations — conservative activist Bob Dohnal in a newsletter offered free transportation to anyone who wanted to attend the protest.

In his newsletter released Thursday, Dohnal suggested bringing signs like "I am losing my business," "my kids are missing their graduation," and "I couldn’t grieve with my family."

At a parking lot in Waukesha County, several hundred participants in a planned business owners rally gathered Friday before driving as a group to Capitol Square. Signs drawn on car windows said "Let Freedom Ring" and "Shut Down Fear, Open Up Wisconsin."

Among them was Tom Rakowski, a part-time bartender from Wind Lake who dressed up as President Donald Trump.

"This is going to bring awareness to the state," Rakowski said. "Leave it up to the business owners."

Near the Capitol, former state Rep. Don Pridemore and his wife, Tina, were collecting signatures in support of forming an exploratory committee to recall Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Asked if he wanted to recall Evers, Pridemore, who is running for state Senate and once ran against Evers for state schools superintendent, said, "That would be the ultimate goal, but we're taking this in steps."

His wife, Tina Pridemore, spoke to a need to get businesses open.

"We need to open Wisconsin," she said. "Workers need to open the businesses. Churches need to open. If you can open the slaughterhouses of abortion clinics, you can open churches."

The Pridemores briefly had a money jar open to accept donations but removed it after Capitol police told them they could not collect money on Capitol grounds.

Kerry Poole of Milwaukee, an executive assistant at an appraisal firm who is able to work remotely, attended with her mother, Debbie Kauer.

"I don't think this is a partisan issue," Poole said. "I think this affects people the same. I'm just here to let our governor and legislators know that the people around Wisconsin want to start opening up the state."

She said she agrees that the state can't be open full force, but said, "to have everything shut down until May 26 is overreaching."

Mark Batten — a fabricator, welder and steamfitter from Milwaukee — was carrying a sign, "We Won't Forget, Tony."

"The numbers don't justify (the closure)," Batten said, adding that he also participated in a rally in Brookfield last Saturday. "It is based on hysteria, not logic."

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Batten said he is still working but has a good friend who owns a restaurant that is unlikely to ever reopen.

"In the future, who is going to reinvest in a business? Who is going to sign a mortgage if you're a non-essential worker?" Batten said.

Protesters also stayed in their cars, lining up on East and West Washington Avenue and in front of the Capitol rally, honking their horns and waving flags.

Capitol police were on hand, some wearing plastic face shields, but did not enforce physical distancing rules on the crowd, many of whom were not wearing masks.

At least two women wearing hospital scrubs stood among the crowd with face masks holding signs that read "please go home" and "In overwhelmed hospitals, more people die."

The night before the protest, nurses lined the state Capitol steps with 1,300 electronic candles in tribute to those hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wisconsin since the outbreak began. The candles were meant to be a silent counterprotest.

"These reckless protests show no regard for essential workers who are risking our lives to keep our country running," SEIU Healthcare, the state's largest health care workers union, said in a statement. "We face an emergency on two fronts: a public health crisis of a fast-spreading deadly virus and an economic emergency that threatens the well-being of millions. It is time for our elected leaders to step up to protect the health, safety and economic well-being of all people."

Protest organizer Madison Elmer of rural Walworth County told the crowd "you are not alone." She said she decided to gather people together after seeing her neighbors suffer a significant economic toll.

After Evers extended his order to stay home until May 26, interest in the rally exploded, she said.

Similar protests have popped up around the country, especially in states with Democratic governors like Wisconsin.

In some ways, what's occurring resembles the birth of the tea party movement that galvanized conservatives during the first years of President Barack Obama's administration.

And some of the same groups that were involved in that earlier effort are, for now, on the periphery of this one, organizations such as Tea Party Patriots and FreedomWorks.

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But while the protest is drawing much interest, it's unclear how representative the sentiment is in Wisconsin.

Two recent national polls showed a majority of Americans support restrictions in place by governors to limit the spread of the virus, which has killed 257 people in Wisconsin.

Some Republican lawmakers are encouraging the rallies and most are largely silent on the issue. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, however, urged caution ahead of the protest.

"I'm not going to attend," he said. "I'm going to encourage people to follow the guidelines and maintain social distancing so they don't get the coronavirus and spread it."

Evers told reporters Thursday he believes the protesters' First Amendment rights are "sacred" and wouldn't direct the Capitol police force to enforce physical distancing rules he has ordered to prevent transmission of the virus.

Friday's protest is at least the third in Wisconsin in less than a week. Rallies in Brookfield and Madison were held last weekend.

Ricardo Torres of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.