At Least Ten Agitators Arrested in Madison as Filthy ‘Autonomous Zone’ is Dismantled

Authorities in Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday sent in crews to clean up and dismantle the filthy and violent “autonomous zone” that was set up by left-wing agitators to protest the shooting of an armed violent felon. At least ten occupiers were arrested as of Tuesday morning, Fox 6 reported.

Repeat offender Corey Ruiz, 38, was shot by police on July 22 after allegedly attacking an officer with a knife.

Public records show that Ruiz had eight convictions for “resisting, obstructing, threatening or injuring police officers between 2007 and 2024,” according to Fox 6.
Five of those prior cases reportedly involved conflicts with City of Madison police officers.

After the shooting, activists, including Black Lives Matter members, quickly set up barricades using furniture, spike strips, and wooden pallets to occupy downtown Madison.

The Corey Ruiz Autonomous Zone (also known as CRAZE or “Corey Street”) was initially allowed by the woke mayor as a protest encampment.

The City of Madison even provided basic services, including portable restrooms and the use of salt trucks as street blockades. A homeless population quickly moved into the zone, creating a need for more services..

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway on Friday described the zone as “not sustainable or safe” but did not set a timeline for clearing it.

Meanwhile, Independent journalist Nick Sortor was threatened over the weekend by BLM agitators while reporting at the scene.

“Hurry up and leave before your life ends here,” an agitator told Sortor. “There’s a whole team of us.”

Cleaning crews were sent in early Tuesday morning after “CRAZE” had become a public health hazard. After the decision to remove the encampment was announced, the occupiers reportedly lit fires and threw rocks at the city workers.

The agitators clashed with city and state police who were sent to the scene to protect the crews.

The agitators blocked the streets near the encampment after it was cleared.

The occupiers eventually moved to the mayor’s decrepit house to wage a “noise protest” over her decision to shut down their “CRAZE.” They littered the mayor’s front yard with anti-police signs, deployed a megaphone siren and screamed at her through a bullhorn.

“The community ain’t get no sleep ’cause of you!” an agitator bellowed through the bullhorn. “We saw you sent your pigs out too!”

“You have blood on your hands!” the agitator cried.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a video statement Tuesday that the decision to clear the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin Streets was “not made lightly” and occurred only after nearly two weeks of failed attempts to resolve the situation voluntarily.

She urged the community to focus on “sustainable change” and accountability through official investigations rather than occupation, stating, “Holding government accountable for progress should not mean harming the community we all share.”