It felt less like a press conference takeover than a planned humilitation ritual: Madison’s mayor and police chief stood mute and motionless as protesters stormed in, seized the microphone, and turned an official briefing into a street rally. One activist even brandished a sign declaring “Corrupt cops deserve to die too!!!” while the city’s top officials did nothing to stop the chaos.
Not because they were powerless, but because they wanted to empower the mob. And the message that sent was unmistakable. The mob didn’t take control so much as Madion’s leaders ceded it.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Common Council President Sabrina Madison, and Police Chief John Patterson gathered to address the fatal officer-involved shooting of Corey Durell Ruiz, a homeless man who, according to police, resisted arrest, produced a knife, and injured an officer. Body cameras weren’t rolling—Madison’s progressive leadership has long prevented that basic and obvious law enforcement tool—but bystander video and the chief’s own account paint a chaotic, dangerous encounter that naturally produced the standard mob response.
Thankfully there was no rioting and the only damage the first night of protests did was to Madison liberal wine moms’ night out at the Concert on the Square, but on the second night of demonstrations, the mob demonstrated who really runs this city.
And now the whole world nows. The moment about 20 crazies burst into the room and their leader grabbed the microphone and started spouting barely coherent talking points, it was clear that they were in charge. Patterson stood back and watched. Rhodes-Conway and Madison silently cheered; the captive audience of a show they allowed to be stolen.
Their constituents are now held captive by the mob, wondering when and if they’ll be allowed to attend public events or drive down public streets without being stopped, hassled, or worse by people now emboldened to do whatever they want to whomever they want. They were just allowed to publicly humiliate the mayor, common council president, and police chief by taking over their event. Who is going to stop them if they want to take over the average citizen’s?
No one. And that’s the point. The mob now rules Madison, and that’s perfectly acceptable.
