Communist, socialist network helped fuel Madison protests after Corey Ruiz shooting, investigation finds

A coalition of communist, socialist and left-wing activist organizations helped drive nearly two weeks of protests and a sprawling encampment in Madison, Wis., following the fatal police shooting of homeless man Corey Ruiz, with the demonstrations later escalating into clashes with police, street fires and blocked intersections.

Among the most prominent groups backing the protests are the Madison chapter of the openly communist Party for Socialism and Liberation, Freedom Inc., a Madison-based “social justice” nonprofit, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a Marxist-Leninist political organization, all of which have publicly backed the protests.

Together, the groups have organized demonstrations, maintained a sprawling protest encampment, demanding the officer’s arrest and repeatedly referring to him as a “killer cop.” Freedom Inc. also publicly said it bailed out dozens of protesters following recent arrests.

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The mobilization reflects a broader pattern in which communist and socialist organizations have used local confrontations with law enforcement to build protest movements and advance broader political agendas, national security experts say.

Before city crews dismantled the encampment Tuesday morning, it had expanded to include dozens of tents, four portable toilets, food distribution areas and memorial displays. Organizers also brought a raised-fist sculpture from Minneapolis’ George Floyd Square to the encampment.

The initial demonstrations erupted after Ruiz was fatally shot on July 22 after police said officers responded to reports of theft before Ruiz fled on a bicycle. After several officers caught up with him, authorities said Ruiz pulled a knife, injured one officer during a struggle and was fatally shot by another officer.

Protesters have accused law enforcement of using excessive force and, during several demonstrations, drawing parallels to the 2020 death of Floyd by while he was being restrained by Minneapolis police.

The Madison unrest culminated late Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday when protesters allegedly threw projectiles at city workers, set five street fires and clashed with officers, according to the Madison Police Department. Police said the unrest resulted in at least 22 arrests, while officers also recovered a handgun from a juvenile protester arrested on unrelated charges.

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The Party for Socialism and Liberation

Among the organizations helping drive the demonstrations was the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which Fox News Digital has previously identified as a key organizer of nationwide protest movements within the broader activist ecosystem surrounding organizations funded by Marxist tech entrepreneur Neville Roy Singham, who lives in Shanghai.

Earlier this year, a Fox News Digital investigation documented roughly $285 million flowing from Singham into a global network of nonprofits, activist organizations and media operations.

Since the shooting, the Madison chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation has used its social media accounts to mobilize supporters with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly referring to the officer involved as a “killer cop,” The group has helped organize demonstrations, urged followers to “take the streets” and pressured elected officials through coordinated phone and email campaigns demanding the officer’s arrest.

After city crews dismantled the protest encampment Tuesday morning, the Party for Socialism and Liberation posted an Instagram video showing officers clearing flowers, candles and memorial items from the intersection where Ruiz was shot before urging supporters to attend another evening demonstration outside Madison City Hall.

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The accompanying caption accused city officials of protecting the officer, stating: “Killer cop … is still walking free. Still on the streets. Still getting paid,” the post read, while identifying the officer by name.

The group concluded the post by writing: “You can destroy a memorial, but you cannot destroy a movement.”

Hours after the Party for Socialism and Liberation promoted the evening demonstration, protesters returned to the streets, where officers reported multiple arrests, street fires and blocked intersections.

While the activist group has repeatedly identified the officer involved and demanded his arrest, Madison police have declined to publicly identify any of the four officers involved in the encounter. All four remain on administrative leave while the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigates the shooting, according to local reports.

Freedom Inc.

Another prominent organizer is Freedom Inc., a Madison-based activist nonprofit that advocates abolishing police, defunding law enforcement and broad criminal justice reforms.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Freedom Inc. claimed it had “bailed out 50 people” from the Dane County Public Safety Building following the previous night’s arrests and had “shut down Doty Street directly in front of the jail while working to get people released.”

Fox News Digital was unable to independently verify Freedom Inc.’s claim that it bailed out 50 protesters and has reached out to the organization for comment. Fox News Digital also sought comment from the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

IRS filings reviewed by Fox News Digital show Freedom Inc. reported roughly $4.9 million in revenue in 2024, including about $1.24 million in government grants, after reporting roughly $4.2 million in revenue in 2023, including about $1.13 million in government grants.

The overlap between Freedom Inc. and the Madison chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation was evident Wednesday morning, when they jointly published an Instagram post calling supporters to another protest outside the Dane County Courthouse.

The poster declared, “All out for Freedom, Inc.! Don’t arrest me, arrest the cops!” while the caption urged supporters to attend, declaring: “Jail killer cops! Justice for Corey Ruiz! Dare to struggle, Dare to win!”

On social media, Freedom Inc. identified itself as the organizer of Monday night’s “mass mobilization” that saw protesters climb onto Madison City Hall and hang a giant banner reading “Arrest the Killer Cop” across the front of the building. They also threw balloons filled with red liquid at the building, according to local media outlet WKOW.

Following the encampment’s removal, Freedom Inc. accused Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway of “sending armed militia to raid the memorial site.”

The rhetoric reflected Freedom Inc.’s broader platform. In a February Instagram post pinned to its page, the group called to “Abolish Police,” defund police and ICE, end deportations and close jails, prisons and ICE detention centers.

The organization wrote that “Police and ICE are tearing families apart, racially profiling our people, criminalizing poverty, and inflicting violence on Black, Brown, immigrant, and working-class communities,” adding that communities deserve “safety without surveillance” and “care without criminalization.”

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The wider network

Freedom Inc.’s organizing also drew support from Fight Back! News, which jointly published an Instagram post with the group highlighting its organizing at the protest encampment. The post described individuals and organizations traveling to Madison from “around the country” to “help organize on the ground” and highlighted a four-day educational series and postcard-writing campaign by Freedom Inc. demanding the officer’s arrest, defunding the police, strengthening civilian oversight and expanding community control of policing.

Fight Back! News openly states on its website that some of its writers and staff are members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, another far-left organization that has appeared alongside the Party for Socialism and Liberation in previous Fox News Digital reporting on protest movements from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.

Freedom Inc.’s organizing also extended nationally. On July 22, the group jointly published an Instagram post with the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression calling for “Justice for Corey Ruiz” and “Community Control of the Police Now!”

Meanwhile, state Rep. Francesca Hong, who is running for governor and has previously called for “abolishing the police,” appeared at the memorial site shortly after Ruiz’s death. Hong does not appear to be affiliated with any of the groups.

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Madison resident Tom Beck, a retiree who has lived in the city for about 12 years, said city officials allowed the encampment to become entrenched before finally dismantling it.

“They should have given them maybe 48 hours and then go in there and just push it out of the way. Instead, they let it grow,” Beck told Fox News Digital.

“It’s just become an embarrassment.”

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway defended the city’s response, saying officials first offered shelter and hotel accommodations before clearing the encampment, citing public safety concerns and its detrimental impact on nearby businesses and the surrounding neighborhood.