MADISON (WKOW) -- Following warnings of possible armed protests at all 50 state capitols ahead of Wednesday's presidential inauguration, heightened security measures and shuttered businesses jumped out around the Wisconsin State Capitol.
However, by Wednesday, there was noticeably smaller police presence around the building and some of the businesses that closed Sunday had reopened.
One of the starkest differences from Sunday to Wednesday was the removal of armor trucks and barricades that had blocked each of the circle drives around the Capitol building.
While police diverted traffic off the inner square drive Sunday, traffic was unimpeded Wednesday.
There were hardly any protesters outside the building earlier in the day; by the time President Joe Biden was sworn into office, there were no protesters at all.
Among the few people around the square on this bitterly cold day were UW-Madison students who've returned to Madison in recent days and wanted to see for themselves if any protests would develop.
"I think we all heard a lot of rumors and stuff but I wasn't really that nervous," said UW-Madison senior Rachel Farber, "I feel like [police are] gonna be pretty well prepared for everything."
Farber, who's from Minnesota, said she had gotten back to Madison on Tuesday. Her friend and fellow senior, Kippy Terry said she returned to campus from her Kansas City home on Monday. Both decided to come by the Capitol around noon Wednesday.
"I was driving up here and also feeling anxious about things going on," Terry said. "I think I was expecting more of a presence at the Capitol today but I'm relieved that it's calm and not really that much going on."
Despite the scaled-down security from Sunday, there was still a larger-than-usual police presence around the Capitol. Officers from the Capitol Police and State Patrol made rounds around the building; some had dogs stopping to sniff each garbage can.
Capitol Police did not respond to 27 News' requests for comment.
A number of businesses around the square had remained closed since Sunday out of precaution. Teddywedgers, however, was once again open after closing early on Sunday.
"Sunday definitely sent a little bit of a chill down my spine," said co-owner Anthony Rineer. "We actually ended up closing for that day; it was the first day we had to close since COVID started in 2020."
Rineer said he still had some reservations about opening and cited his main concerns as people from a large protest coming in without masks or carrying assault rifles.
"Sunday definitely made us feel better about the rest of the week," Rineer said. "I definitely was still a little nervous but seeing the state had taken precautions to make sure nothing went down make us feel more comfortable about reopening."
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