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"Shortly after 8 p.m., hundreds of protesters gathered outside the locked King Street entrance to the Capitol, chanting 'Break down the door!' and 'General strike!'"

"Moments later, police ceded control of the State Street doors and allowed the crowd to surge inside." writes the Wisconsin State Journal.

It's not clear why police abandoned efforts to limit access to the Capitol Wednesday night, but Department of Administration spokesman Tim Donovan said "windows have been broken" to get in. He said he could not immediately provide specifics.

3 alternate theories of mine: 1. The police are sympathetic with the protests and facilitating them, 2. The police were overwhelmed by the numbers and retreated, 3. The police have a strategy of accommodating the crowd and letting them express and expend its energy.

Protesters jammed three floors of the Capitol and packed the bridges that connect the four wings of the Capitol, prompting alarm by police and others that those parts of the building might collapse.

Meade overheard some talk among the police about the capacity of the wooden components of the building to bear the load.

Full post as published by Althouse on March 10, 2011 (boomark / email).