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Special Report Spotlight

Inside a movement: 24 hours in Madison

STATE JOURNAL STAFF
Jul 26, 2026
Jul 26, 2026
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16 min to read

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MADISON, Wis. — The heart of a movement born of grief and resolve beats at the corner of Williamson and South Baldwin streets.

Willy Street — Derrick McCann, left, and Erica Davis, with their children Aaliyah, 6, and King, 5, right, gather at Williamson and South Baldwin Streets where Corey Ruiz was fatally shot by a police officer. The intersection has become a 24/7 gathering space.
AMBER ARNOLD

Willy Street — Trinity Wilson, right, chants with protesters as a crowd gathers at Williamson and South Baldwin streets on Friday.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Eric Heitzinger, manager at Monty’s Blue Plate Diner, offers food, that he planned to sell at AtwoodFest before it was canceled, to a crowd that gathers at Williamson and South Baldwin Streets where Corey Ruiz was fatally shot by a police officer.
AMBER ARNOLD

Willy Street — Asiatic King grills burgers for protestors gathering at the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Jordan Powell Karis adjusts the Pan-American flag atop a 11-foot raised fist sculpture he built and delivered from Minneapolis, Friday at the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets, where Corey Ruiz was fatally shot by a police officer on Wednesday.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

WillySt-20260724-07-0197.JPGWIS0004089157.JPG — Astrid Berger, left, makes a banner using a fitted sheet that will read “Corey Ruiz deserved to live” as a crowd gathers Friday at Williamson and South Baldwin streets.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Gibs Bar “Justice for Corey” — Bailey Whisler, a bartender at Gibs Bar, located at 1380 Williamson St., sits on the front porch of the bar while painting a sign to honor Corey Ruiz, a 38-year-old Black man who a Madison police officer shot and killed down the street on Wednesday.
SABINE MARITN, STATE JOURNAL

WillySt-20260724-06-1005.JPGWIS0004089156.JPG — Alyse Fleuette paints a portrait of Corey Ruiz, who was fatally shot by a police officer on Wednesday afternoon, as protesters gather at Williamson and South Baldwin streets on Friday.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — At 6:30 p.m., protesters march west past the protective barricade they had put up on Williamson St. towards the downtown Madison police station and the Capitol.
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES

Willy Street — A crowd gathers at Williamson and South Baldwin Streets where Corey Ruiz was fatally shot by a police officer on Wednesday afternoon, in Madison, Wis. Friday, July 24, 2026. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD

Willy Street — Just before 10 p.m., people gather around the memorial for Corey Ruiz. People have been gathering at Williamson and South Baldwin streets around the clock since the shooting Wednesday afternoon.
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Corey Ruiz’s mother, Elsa, center, is embraced after writing a message to Corey on a statue of a raised fist at the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets.
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Garbage cans are tied together for reinforcement as the street is blocked off on Williamson Street near the site where Corey Ruiz was fatally shot by a police officer.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES

Anderson Corcoran — “No one's getting through here without a murder charge,” said Anderson Corcoran, standing in front to the city barricades blocking off South Baldwin Street at Wilson Street, a block from the memorial.
SAMARA KALK DERBY, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — White and blue balloons, the colors Corey Ruiz was wearing when he was killed by a Madison Police Department officer, float in the wind, tied to an empty chair on Friday.
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Trevor Ewing, who grew up in the Marquette neighborhood and was a friend of Corey Ruiz, lights candles at a memorial for him at the intersection of Williamson St. and S. Baldwin St. on Friday, July 24, 2026 in Madison, Wis. OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL

Kadin Hoger was grilling at the encampment on Williamson and South Baldwin streets from 2 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday.

Willy Street — At 5:40 a.m., protesters with megaphones speak and lead brief chants as the sun rises on Saturday, July 25, 2026 in Madison, Wis. OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Just after 6 a.m., Kieran Hauge lights candles around the edges of the memorial for Corey Ruiz. Hauge had stayed up all night at the memorial. OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL

Picking up — Community members clear glass vases and candles from the ground, preparing for a tarp to be put over the growing memorial as a light rain hit around 10:30 a.m.
ANNA HANSEN, WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

Covered — Protesters secure a tarp over the Williamson Street memorial for Corey Ruiz as a light rain falls.
ANNA HANSEN, WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

Willy Street — Maleyk Mason, who works with the Madison-based nonprofit Freedom Inc., takes a break from moving water and food for protesters on Friday.
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES

The memorial for Corey Ruiz has been in place on Williamson Street since Wednesday, when Ruiz was shot dead by police there. It was still holding strong Saturday, with no sign of police or other means of removal. Protesters said they plan on staying as long as they can.

Willy Street — Just after 9 p.m. a protester raises a fist while standing on top of a vehicle after protesters returned from a march to the intersection of Williamson St. and S. Baldwin St. on Friday, July 24, 2026 in Madison, Wis. OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL
OWEN ZILIAK, STATE JOURNAL