Reminiscence of the George Floyd riots and the Urban Leftist “autonomous zones”, protesters in Madison, Wisconsin tried to recreate their nascent social justice autonomous collectives after the shooting of a suspect.
“The mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, called for protesters to disband from an ‘autonomous zone’ established at the site where police shot and killed a knife-wielding homeless man last month.
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“Authorities said officers shot and killed Ruiz, an ex-felon, while he was resisting arrest on July 22 in the state’s capital city. Madison Police Chief John Patterson said Ruiz pulled out a knife during the altercation and wounded an officer before police fired the fatal shots.
“State investigators are reviewing what led up to Ruiz’s killing, but many residents in the deep blue city determined the killing was unjust shortly after it became public knowledge.
“Protesters harangued police and public officials at press conferences about the incident while holding up signs saying ‘Corrupt cops deserve to die too.’
“Last week, demonstrators ramped up their protest campaign by positioning their cars and other objects to barricade themselves inside the ‘Corey Ruiz Autonomous Zone’ where he was killed.
“The area, which is modeled after Seattle’s ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’ during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, calls itself a ‘law-enforcement-free zone’ that has become a gathering place for both activists and the city’s homeless population.”
Unlike in 2020, when these “Autonomous Zones” were allowed to run rampant under the directorship of “Warlords”, a broader consensus to not tolerate this, at least to the degree these “Zones” were tolerated six years prior.
“Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway says the city will tow vehicles that are blocking streets at the area where a Madison police officer shot and killed 38-year-old Corey Ruiz on July 22.
“The message comes after the site of a makeshift memorial to Ruiz turned into an encampment, which has blocked off a near east side intersection for more than a week.
“On Sunday evening, the mayor announced that the city has put out tow notices for personal vehicles blocking the streets and said those notices will be ‘acted upon.’
“Beyond that, the mayor has not said what tactics the city will use to clear the area if people do not leave voluntarily.
“‘I want to thank the Madison community for their patience as we work to reopen the intersection of Williamson Street and Baldwin Street, while also ensuring that those who want to visit a memorial will have space to do so,’ the mayor wrote on Sunday. ‘City of Madison staff and community partners have been actively delivering the message that the best path forward is for the occupation to end peacefully so the real work of healing the community and enacting change can begin.’”
