Activists from at least a dozen leftist groups are organizing or promoting the “autonomous zone” protest in Madison, Wisconsin, that officials say is harming the neighborhood.Protesters began setting up an encampment on July 22 that has since blocked traffic and business after a police-involved shooting that day that killed convicted felon Corey Ruiz, according to the city. Social media posts from those involved show activists coordinating funding and erecting construction site equipment as a blockade, a Washington Examiner analysis found. The protest has also featured a “mental health support tent,” a taxpayer-funded nonprofit group that advocates abolishing police, and a list of criminal justice reform “demands” to the city.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway called out protesters for continuing to block roads on Sunday and demanded that they stop their “occupation,” but did not announce any action to force their dispersal. The city’s fire department must now take emergency vehicles “around the encampment, potentially adding minutes to a call,” Madison Councilman Alder Evers said Sunday.“There is real harm being done to local businesses and residents in the Marquette Neighborhood,” the mayor said Sunday. “We are hearing from neighbors who are losing income and even jobs, and who will not be able to make rent. We are hearing from employees who are being laid off and businesses that are on the verge of closing permanently.”Rhodes-Conway noted that the so-called Corey Ruiz autonomous zone resembles Seattle Black Lives Matter rioters’ Capitol Hill autonomous zone, or CHAZ, which resulted in shooting and deaths after its occupants kicked out police.The mayor’s office did not provide comment in response to a Washington Examiner inquiry.The funding
