Unable to move iCloud files

Goal:

• I turned on iCloud file synching for my Desktop and Documents folder one week ago.
• Now I need to move my folders (all or some) back to my local computer. E.g. The move to iCloud disrupted the paths in my python scripts - so it would be good to transfer this folder back to local
• Many of my files have a "!" icon in the cloud icon next to the file name.
• I turned off the Desktop and Documents synch option in the System Settings.
• Now my files are on iCloud only, and I need to copy them back over to local (this did not happen automatically).

Problem:

• When I attempt to move a folder, a status bar dialog pops up: "preparing to move..."
• The status dialog runs for 10 to 15 minutes, then simply disappears without any detectable change to the system or file locations.
• In some cases, especially when I transfer a single file, the move happens almost immediately - as intended.
• In other cases, the dialog runs, and I can see files disappearing in iCloud, then appearing on local drive, as intended, but the process seems slow.
• I am currently stuck with most of my files locked up in iCloud, a few transferred to local, and no way to finish transferring.
• I have considered leaving most of then there and only copying back things that I need to work with, but it's not possible to even transfer a directory with more than 20 files or so.

Notes

• I have tried restarting in Safe mode, but the problem persisted.
• Running Sonoma 14.0 / MacBook ~2021. 350 GB available local.
• Upon restart, I am occasionally seeing a red bar at the top of Finder that says something "installation finishing."

Any help appreciated!