Well, maybe there won’t be a sleepover tonight in the state Capitol.
Leaders of the Washington State Patrol and General Administration decided to lock down the building at 5 p.m. and allow only lawmakers, journalists and people with legitimate business interests to enter.
It wasn’t immediately clear if that meant lobbyists could not return if they left the building.
What was clear is about 75 people, some with sleeping bags, were not allowed inside to watch the scheduled evening session of the Senate — and maybe protest a little too before going to bed.
WSP Chief John Batiste spoke with a portion of the group around 6 p.m.
Right afterwards he told me the closure is to provide a “cooling off period” following the arrest of 17 people during an afternoon protest outside the doors of the governor’s office.
Twelve were cited and released for disorderly conduct but one was arrested for assaulting a state trooper. Batiste said he didn’t want any escalation.
“In the interest of public safety and in light of what happened today, we need a cooling off period,” he said.
When told Gov. Chris Gregoire didn’t mind if protesters spent the night as long as they behaved, he said: “They didn’t behave.”
The closure is in effect until 7 a.m. Friday.
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