{"id":21656,"date":"2026-07-30T04:47:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21656"},"modified":"2026-07-30T04:47:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:47:38","slug":"protesters-blockade-wisconsin-street-where-felon-was-killed-after-knifing-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21656","title":{"rendered":"Protesters blockade Wisconsin street where felon was killed after knifing cop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F135886765.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters have blockaded two trendy blocks in downtown Madison, Wisconsin a week after <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/23\/us-news\/corey-ruiz-ided-as-wisconsin-knifeman-killed-by-cops-in-caught-on-camera-shooting\/\">armed serial felon Corey Ruiz<\/a> was shot and killed by police \u2014 erecting barricades similar to the infamous 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/06\/20\/my-terrifying-5-day-stay-inside-seattles-autonomous-zone\/\">\u201cCapitol Hill Autonomous Zone\u201d (CHAZ)<\/a> in Seattle<\/p>\n<p>And the city of Madison \u2014 home to the state capitol and the University of Wisconsin \u2014 is helping them by providing portable toilets and other resources. <\/p>\n<p>Neighbors have had enough, telling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wmtv15news.com\/2026\/07\/28\/madison-memorial-blocks-williamson-street-businesses-residents-nearly-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WMTV 15 News<\/a> they feel \u201ctrapped\u201d by the rapidly expanding protest zone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel the protest has turned into a very disrespectful occupation focused on punishing Willy Street for the incident,\u201d one local told the outlet on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Two city blocks in downtown Madison have been taken over by radical protesters, which some have declared the \u201cCorey Ruiz Autonomous Zone\u201d \u2014 or \u201cCRAZ.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">WMTV<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt is now a lawless zone and homeless encampment barricaded on all four sides with groups blocking local residences and businesses from surviving.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Some protesters have already declared it the \u201cCorey Ruiz Autonomous Zone\u201d \u2014 or \u201cCRAZ\u201d \u2014 a nod to the lawless Seattle CHAZ or Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP). <\/p>\n<p>Footage captured by local reporters shows the corner of South Baldwin Street and Williamson Street \u2014 known locally as Willy Street \u2014 typically a bustling, mixed-use thoroughfare in the heart of downtown, strewn with piles of trash and marred with graffiti.<\/p>\n<p>The two-block section of Williamson Street near where the fatal July 22 shooting took place has been officially closed off, a large statue of the Black Lives Matter fist erected in the middle of the intersection surrounded by what appears to be a community garden.<\/p>\n<p>Banners and signs reading \u201cJustice for Corey\u201d and \u201cSay his name\u201d could be seen draped over the fronts of local businesses, which include a bar, a beauty salon, a jewelry shop, and a handful of other small shops.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Black Lives Matter activists have seized on the killing of Corey Ruiz, sparking protests that have roiled the state capital\u2019s central business district on a nightly basis. <span class=\"credit\">Anadolu via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Journal Sentinel reporter Laura Schulte <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SchulteLaura\/status\/2082153638512730196\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote on X<\/a> that she\u2019s heard the cordoned off area referred to as CRAZ, eerily similar to CHAZ, a violent takeover of city streets in Seattle protesting the murder of George Floyd. <\/p>\n<p>CHAZ lasted more than three weeks in June and July 2020, which then-Mayor Jenny Durkin gaily called \u201ca summer of love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That encampment was finally cleared by Seattle police after its fourth shooting, in which a 16-year-old was killed and a 14-year-old was left in critical condition.<\/p>\n<p>As was seen with CHAZ, city leaders in Madison have fallen all over themselves to be accommodating, setting up portable toilets for the protesters holding sit-ins on shabby lawn chairs or milling about the desecrated city center.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Online court records show at least 25 criminal cases for Ruiz dating back to 2007, <span class=\"credit\">Wisconsin Department of Corrections<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Alder Davy Mayer, a self-described activist whose District 6 encompasses the area, told WMTV 15 News the city was also bringing in salt trucks to replace the barriers the protesters threw together from stolen trash cans, wood palettes and nails.<\/p>\n<p>Asked how long the takeover will be allowed to continue to fester, Mayer refused to offer a definitive timeline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think the city wants to see a permanent takeover of this intersection,\u201d Mayer said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we also don\u2019t want to see a violent clearing of it either. So it\u2019s working with all these parties to find a resolution, which is difficult, which takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mayer meekly acknowledged the local homeless population\u2019s migration into CRAZ has caused \u201cdisruption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ruiz\u2019s caught-on-camera shooting has become a national flashpoint as local Black Lives Matter activists have seized on the killing, sparking protests that have roiled the state capital\u2019s central business district on a nightly basis ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Prison records show that Ruiz was Hispanic, and not black \u2014 though court records listed him as African-American.<\/p>\n<p>He had recently been released from prison, and had knifed a cop moments before he was fatally shot, according to authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Online court records show at least 25 criminal cases for Ruiz dating back to 2007, several of them related to violent encounters with police.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, he was convicted of battery to a law enforcement officer and resisting a law enforcement officer. He most recently was convicted in 2025 of retail theft and resisting police.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters have blockaded two trendy blocks in downtown Madison, Wisconsin a week after armed serial felon Corey Ruiz was shot and killed by police \u2014 erecting barricades similar to the infamous 2020 \u201cCapitol Hill Autonomous Zone\u201d (CHAZ) in Seattle And the city of Madison \u2014 home to the state capitol&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/135886765.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}