Americans who survived the summer of 2020 remember what happened when Democrat-run cities decided that appeasing the mob beat maintaining basic civic order. Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone — where the mayor giddily predicted a “summer of love” before people actually died — should have buried this brand of stupidity for good. It didn’t. Not even close.

What’s happening right now in one Midwestern capital city makes Seattle look restrained by comparison. Because this time, the local government isn’t just stepping aside while radicals barricade public streets. It’s sending in portable toilets and parking city trucks to help them do it. With your tax dollars, naturally.

From The Post Millennial:

Protesters in Wisconsin have established an autonomous zone in downtown Madison following the police shooting of Corey Ruiz.

The area, called the “Corey Ruiz Autonomous Zone” or “CRAZ” was established following the July 22 police shooting of Ruiz, an armed felon who was killed after allegedly attacking a police officer with a knife.

An armed felon pulled a knife on police, stabbed an officer, and got shot for it. That man is now the patron saint of a street occupation — and the city of Madison is catering the event.

A “violent super predator” with 40 convictions

Corey Durell Ruiz was nobody’s victim. Journalist Andy Ngo documented Ruiz’s record: at least 40 prior convictions for violent crimes including battery and robbery. He owed roughly $50,000 in unpaid child support. On July 22, officers tried to apprehend him on suspicion of stealing bikes. During the struggle, he drew a large fixed-blade knife and buried it in an officer.

The officer who fired was right to shoot. Period. A violent career criminal armed with a knife was actively trying to kill a cop. There is no universe in which that outcome demands an apology.

But none of that mattered to attorney Ben Crump — the same Ben Crump who represented the George Floyd family — who materialized to attach himself to the cause. Hundreds marched. Anti-cop chants echoed through downtown. And then the barricades went up.

Porta-potties, salt trucks, and nail-studded boards

Here’s where righteous anger becomes disbelief. Activists blockaded the intersection of Williamson and Baldwin Streets using trash cans, wooden pallets, and spike strips. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel‘s Laura Schulte photographed boards studded with nails lining the perimeter — designed to puncture tires and keep people out. Tents sprouted. The occupiers declared themselves “autonomous.”

And Madison’s Democrat city officials responded by… helping. The New York Post confirmed the city provided portable restrooms. Schulte reported the city positioned salt trucks to “shield the intersection.” District 6 Alder Davy Mayer cheerfully confirmed the city was delivering “basic services” to the zone. A homeless population also migrated in, which Mayer acknowledged was “causing disruption.” (Shocking, truly.)

So the local government — funded by property-tax-paying residents now trapped in their own neighborhood — is providing logistical support to people who’ve declared they no longer recognize its authority. The irony would be funny if actual citizens weren’t suffering for it.

Every law on the books, shattered

Wisconsin attorney Dan Lennington spelled out the legal carnage. Madison’s own city ordinance prohibits obstructing streets. State law makes blocking roadways a misdemeanor. Protesters were caught on camera announcing plans to target white-owned businesses specifically — which, for anyone keeping score, constitutes a potential federal hate crime under 18 USC 245.

Business owners inside the zone say they feel “trapped” and unable to operate. Emergency vehicles can’t get through. Independent journalist Nick Sortor reported that occupiers threatened to kill him while physically blocking him from reaching his car. “Hurry up and leave before your life ends out here,” they said. “There’s a whole team of us.”

Sortor noted — generously — that Madison police were “incredibly helpful” but needed additional resources. Translation: the officers want to restore order, but their political bosses won’t greenlight it.

Governor Evers? Silent. The mayor? Invisible. Accountability in Madison is apparently as scarce as law enforcement.

A government that refuses to govern

A city government exists for one purpose above all others: protect its citizens. Madison hasn’t just failed that purpose. It has inverted it — subsidizing an armed encampment ringed with nail-studded barricades and fueled by death threats, all to honor a man with 40 violent convictions who tried to murder a police officer with a knife.

Every elected official who approved a single portable toilet or authorized a single truck deserves to answer for this disgrace. Not next election cycle. Now.

Key Takeaways

• Madison officials are actively subsidizing an illegal street occupation with city resources.
• Corey Ruiz was a violent career criminal who stabbed a police officer before being shot.
• Multiple city, state, and federal laws are being broken while elected leaders stay silent.
• Trapped residents and shuttered businesses are paying the price for political cowardice.

Sources: The Post Millennial