Madison Autonomous Zone Finally Cleared, 10 Arrested

It has been almost two weeks since police in Madison, Wisconsin shot a man named Corey Ruiz. Ruiz was apparently seen in the area checking car doors and looking for something to steal. Police were called and he escaped on a bicycle. However, cops met up with him a short time later and a struggle ensued in the middle of the street between Ruiz and four officers. Ruiz was fighting the arrest and an attempt to use a taser on him failed. He was taken down to the ground but got an arm free and pulled out a knife, at which point one of the officers shot him three times, killing him. Video just shows the final seconds of the encounter.

A Madison police officer fatally shot 38-year-old Corey Ruiz during a chaotic struggle on a Wisconsin street. pic.twitter.com/6MFKmrl2OW

— AugustinBrian🇺🇸 (@AugustinBrian3) July 28, 2026

The immediate response in Madison was to hold a rally/march which quickly turned into a permanent camp in the middle of the intersection where Ruiz was shot.

A small gathering still here, soundtracked by Alabama by Neil Young. Pretty quiet here this morning pic.twitter.com/wjNClnzZST

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 23, 2026

This grew into another leftist autonomous zone over time. The intersection was closed to traffic by barriers. Here’s what it looked like last Friday.

Democrat city officials in Madison, Wisc. have allowed the Corey Ruiz BLM-Antifa autonomous zone to continue to grow and shut down traffic. Emergency services and local businesses have been impacted.

The extremists are testing how far they can push. So far, they’ve learned…

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 1, 2026

I think the idea here, and every city always has the same idea, was to give people some time and space to grieve before asking them to leave. But what actually happens is that every day the intersection is treated as a no-go zone for police it attracts more leftist goons who want to turn it into a permanent camp to express their ideology. The longer the city waits, the worse it gets. And as Andy Ngo points out, we’ve seen several times how this ends and it usually ends with people being shot.

Yesterday, a group of protesters held another rally outside Madison’s City Hall. This protest involved people with ladders placing large banners on the building.

Protesters climbed Madison City Hall Monday night during a demonstration over the deadly shooting of Corey Ruiz.

The climbers were part of a larger crowd that began at the State Capitol as part of a mass mobilization organized by Freedom Inc.

Several protesters used ladders to climb the building and hung signs reading “Arrest the Killer Cop” along with the phone number for the Dane County District Attorney’s Office. Demonstrators also threw balloons filled with a red liquid at the building.

The mayor announced plans to clear the street. 

Madison needs hard conversations and work to realize a better future. We must have those conversations in a realistic, non-destructive way. That starts with voluntarily taking down the barricades and channeling our momentum towards a better Madison. https://t.co/T3jRUZ7iop

— Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway (@SatyaForMadison) August 1, 2026

The protesters, true to form, said they didn’t care what the mayor wanted.

The woke @MayorOfMadison in Wisconsin is pleading with the violent BLM-Antifa occupiers at the Corey Ruiz autonomous zone to end the standoff, as the local community is impacted by the ongoing road shutdown.

After being appeased for over a week, the extremists say they’re not… pic.twitter.com/EaVptWpIBs

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 4, 2026

The longer you wait, the more these people think they own the intersection. These left-wing mayors never seem to learn. In any case, early this morning city crews showed up to begin cleaning up the street. They were backed up by police.

The city is clearing the encampment this morning pic.twitter.com/5GMfFrgXOX

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

Protestors are protecting the memorial in the center of Willy and Baldwin Streets as bulldozers move in the background pic.twitter.com/LThXFPjdH2

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

And of course this only ends one way as the protesters start to taunt the city workers and dare the police to do something.

Chants of “we’re still here, we’re going nowhere” while bulldozers work in the background pic.twitter.com/g9zx15opRH

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

Representatives from the city are shocked that the protesters turned violent. If only this exact thing had happened several times before and they could learn from it.

The city tells me this was meant to be peaceful. Buses were brought in to give people an option to move. The decision to remove the encampment was announced and protestors lit fires and threw rocks at city workers pic.twitter.com/jEL8IGEuiC

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

Meanwhile, the junk was being dragged off.

Items collected from the protest zone will be taken to a nearby park so people can collect it later pic.twitter.com/pZN400yGoL

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

And police started to make arrests.

State police are now on scene too. Protestors are alleging that the streets division nearly hit a tent housing people with heavy equipment pic.twitter.com/J2vMshJ20g

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

Another arrest: pic.twitter.com/ryplplPhxQ

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

The final stand in front of the giant fist statue.

pic.twitter.com/HAe8KAw3bI

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

Here’s an aerial view.

City crews began dismantling a Madison protest encampment for Corey Ruiz on Tuesday following protests outside a city-county building and the police department Monday night.

Read more: https://t.co/6qeIN6W162 pic.twitter.com/OW8nG6PE4K

— TMJ4 News (@tmj4) August 4, 2026

Police finally move in. There was lots of screaming and the remaining protesters were carried away. Again, they all could have just walked away or rode in a city-provided bus, but this is what they wanted.

Police have removed protestors pic.twitter.com/1UCL8law7e

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

A chaotic scene her at Willy and Baldwin, with some use of pepper spray. A number of people were arrested and taken away pic.twitter.com/OEJaD4kXTH

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

The fist statue is gone and the intersection is cleared.

For the first time in two weeks, the intersection at Williamson and Baldwin Streets is clear, traffic will be able to flow normally pic.twitter.com/wavTy1nPtR

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

So that’s it for now. Of course most of these people will be released from custody in a couple hours and some of them may try to return. We’ll have to keep an eye on this intersection for a few days to see if the clearing sticks.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

Help us fight back against the Democrats and Soros-backed DAs that refuse to enforce our laws to hold criminals accountable. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.