“I’ve sat around for a while thinking, ‘OK, somebody’s going to do something,’” Cook said. “But I think everybody’s doing the same thing — waiting for someone else to do something. So, I decided, you know what, I’m just going to get started and see if other people are ready to join in because they see someone else doing something.”

Cook said that she “decided to start this barely before I even began.” Only when she started protesting did she really start reaching out to people who felt the same way as her. She just decided to go and see what happens.

As for what she is protesting, Cook said there's a number of things she wants to see changed. One thing she wants is an investigation into not just the 2020 election, but into the election system as a whole. She believes that one of the best ways to ensure election integrity is to return to what she calls Amish voting.

“Get rid of all the machines and technology,” Cook said. “Limited to small voter precinct. All paper, in person, same-day-hand-counted ballots. No technology at all. It would significantly reduce the availability and possibility of fraudulent activity.”

Voter fraud is not common today. In the last election, there were only 500 cases of potential fraud of the 159 million votes cast, according to an investigation done by AP in December 2021.

Cook also handed out a flyer during an interview with The State News, which contains misinformation about COVID-19, calling the virus a “PLANDEMIC,” saying the death count has been exaggerated, as well as saying the vaccination damages the immune system.

The vaccine, however, has been proven to be reliable in preventing serious cases of or death due to COVID-19.

After dedicating herself to staying at the Capitol for 12 hours a day, Cook has run into some issues with the weather, her gear and her car. Cook, in the middle of the way, received heavy snow gear, including a jacket and snow pants, from a stranger who had heard about what Cook was doing and decided to bring her warm clothing.

She also had an evening during the week when she became hypothermic. Cook realized she was hypothermic when she went from freezing cold and shivering to being numb and being sleepy. She could still work her phone and called a friend who came and picked her up.

“I recognized some of the symptoms just from things I had read,” Cook said. “It alerted me enough to say I need help and I need it now because if I just sit here, I’ll probably freeze to death before I realize.”

Cook also ran into issues when it came to her car. About mid-week, she said that she needed to get a new battery. After she learned this, she received money from some supporters of her to help with the cost of a new battery.

Cook was carrying around a bag that had an American flag patch on it, along with a badge that read “In God We Trust” and a badge for the Three Percenters.

Three Percenters are one of the largest forces on the paramilitary right. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, it is a sub-ideology of the anti-government movement. 

Cook said that she is a part of the Michigan Three Percenters. She calls the Three Percenters a “patriot group” that are smeared as extremists and racists but are “nothing like that.”

“Mostly, they just hang out and talk about freedom and ways to get together with other people,” Cook said.