“No bad protesters. No good cops.”

Another wave of destruction in Madison downtown follows the police shooting of Jacob Blake

by

There was no question what the night’s mission was for the hundreds of protesters who showed up at the top of State Street around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 24. “This peaceful shit isn’t going to work forever,” one speaker on a megaphone told the crowd.

“It’s not just about [Jacob Blake]. So what the fuck you going to do?” the speaker told protesters. “There’s a police station right down the street...what are you going to do right now?” 

The shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by a Kenosha police officer on Aug. 23 sparked outrage — and peaceful protests — across the country, including in Madison, on Aug. 24. But protesters in downtown Madison were hell-bent on destruction as night fell. Chants of “no media” rang out as a few TV reporters tried to record from a distance.

“I don’t care who the fuck you are, if you got cameras in the air, get the fuck out of here,” an organizer told the crowd at the top of State Street.

A flyer shared on social media the day before called for protesters to meet downtown to “Do what you want. Fuck shit up.”

“No bad protesters. No good cops,” stated the flyer. “Fuck Kenosha PD. Fuck Madison PD. Fuck Milwaukee PD. Fuck Chicago PD.” 

Public information officer Joel DeSpain said six arrests were made after widespread chaos downtown and “many businesses and other property” were damaged. 

“I know at least three officers were injured,” DeSpain told Isthmus the morning of Aug. 25. “I don’t know the extent of their injuries.” 

By 11 p.m., several fires were burning in the street surrounding the Capitol Square. Protesters then split into two groups, with one crowd headed down State Street indiscriminately smashing storefronts, windows, and glass partitions on bus stops. 

“This is war. We didn’t start it. The police can’t keep shooting people and think we will do nothing about it,” shouted one protester, wearing a gas mask and clad in black. 

A small group of police officers in riot gear tried to establish a presence in between the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Greatly outnumbered, the officers soon retreated down West Mifflin Street as protesters pelted them with water bottles. Protesters cheered as officers escaped the scene by piling into an unmarked white van in front of the Madison Central Library.

“Fuck you Nazi scum,” shouted a protester, in one of many taunts hurled at law enforcement. 

State Street business owners had prepared for possible destruction Monday by boarding up storefronts, but that didn’t stop protesters from using bats, metal poles and other implements to break into Badger Liquor on the 400 block of State Street. The store was breached and people started distributing beer and bottles of liquor. Isthmus spotted what appeared to be several young teens with bottles of stolen vodka in their hands. 

A speed limit sign was used to break the windows across the street at the Warby Parker eyeglass shop. The store wasn’t looted because the shelves were empty. The second group of protesters rejoined the State Street group and together they marched back towards the Capitol shortly before midnight. A large dumpster was set ablaze on West Gorham and a line of police officers soon emerged from a cloud of smoke to stop the looting at Badger Liquor. By then, most protesters were already heading back toward the Capitol Square while chanting “Black Lives Matter.”

Unlike during the nights of looting and destruction in downtown Madison in late May and early June that followed the police killing of George Floyd, law enforcement was hesitant to confront protesters directly — at least initially. The crowd also seemed to avoid direct confrontation with police, choosing to keep marching when officers arrived in large numbers. Squad cars drove up and down downtown streets determined to establish a presence and stop further property damage.

“Fuck 12,” chanted the crowd over and over again, a slang reference for the police. One protester laughed as he remarked to a friend, “I just flipped off a cop and he flipped me off right back.”

Thunder, lightning and light rain didn’t deter protesters as the hour approached 1 a.m. They marched to East Washington Avenue still numbering in the hundreds with some breaking windows as the wave of destruction continued. 

Reaching East Wash, the crowd took aim at the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce building — headquarters of the state’s largest business lobby. The front windows were smashed and some protesters tried to light a fire inside. On the building, someone scrawled “you have stolen more than we could ever loot” with spray paint. 

It wasn’t long before dozens of squad cars arrived and police set up a line at the intersection of Blair Street to prevent protesters from moving any farther down East Washington. Police then fired tear gas canisters, for likely the first time, to disperse the crowd. The sound of dozens coughing and gagging filled the air as the group started to retreat back downtown. 

As protesters headed back to the Capitol, several bars on East Main Street were struck by protesters’ bats as the crowd cheered them on. Outside of Maduro, the tenants who live above the cigar bar told protesters that they support the movement against police violence and pleaded with them to please “keep moving.” Maduro was one of the only bars spared. 

One man who wished to be called just “a Good Samaritan” said he tried throughout the evening to persuade protesters to be more selective in their targets. “They were so close to smashing Maduro’s windows. Earlier, I saw people with fucking gas cans at UW Credit Union. I said guys, ‘Go torch the Chase Bank, not the local credit union,’” he said. “They were about to smash the post office [on the Capitol Square] but a group of medics was protecting it. So they hit the Merrill Lynch building. If you want to hit the national investment firms, fine. Don’t smash the local businesses — that’s all I told them.” 

Police returned after protesters broke into Walgreens and started looting the shelves.

“Pick up some cigarettes while you’re in there,” one protester shouted with a megaphone. “We aren’t leaving anyone behind so hurry up…. We gotta go. We gotta keep moving. We gotta be smart. We can’t let them trap us.”

A second skirmish with police in riot gear then broke out. Officers pushed back protesters by fogging them with pepper spray, dispersed in large amounts out of a gun that resembled a fire extinguisher. 

“Go home. Go home!” the crowd chanted at officers. “We don’t need no killer cops.... Fuck 12…. Fuck 12!” 

When some protesters continued to hold their ground, shouts of “rubber bullets” were heard and police ordered protesters to disperse over a loudspeaker. This sent the crowd across the street to the Capitol grounds. Shortly, around 1:40 a.m., a small group of officers protected the Dane County Courthouse by launching more tear gas, which caused sparks to fly as canisters bounced on the pavement. 

One tear gas canister spewed gas near where a homeless man was sleeping on South Fairchild Street. Several protesters aided the man, telling him, “It isn’t safe here, you gotta get up,” as they helped the man gather his possessions. A large traffic cone was placed over the tear gas canister to help contain the toxic fumes. 

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway released a statement Tuesday morning condemning the destruction downtown.

“Madison saw another night of looting and senseless destruction in the wake of the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha,” wrote Rhodes-Conway. “Our city honors the First Amendment and peaceful protests, but we draw the line on arson, theft, and criminal damage to property that puts people’s lives in danger. This behavior doesn’t build a movement — it undercuts the movement, and in Madison it divides a community that largely supports change.” 

Blake‘s father said Tuesday morning that his son might be permanently paralyzed after being shot seven times in the back. 

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers responded quickly to the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer, which was caught on video and went viral almost immediately. 

“What we know for certain is that [Blake] is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country,” wrote Evers in an Aug. 23 statement. “We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country — lives like those of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites.

“I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action,” wrote Evers in his Aug. 23 statement. “In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.” 

The next day, Evers called the GOP-controlled Legislature into a special session to take up a package of bills aimed at reducing the prevalence of police brutality; the proposals include a ban on no-knock warrants and legislation that would make it harder for officers involved in controversial incidents to move to other law enforcement departments.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) accused the governor of using the Blake shooting to “suggest defunding law enforcement.” 

“When a community is hurting, the most important thing that we can do is to listen," Vos said in an Aug. 24 statement. "We must find a path forward as a society that brings everyone together.

“That is why today, I am announcing a Speaker’s task force focusing on racial disparities, educational opportunities, public safety, and police policies and standards. We must find a path forward as a society that brings everyone together.”

At 2 a.m. at the top of State Street, a crowd of about 50 protesters looked weary and many sat on the curb listening to instructions from organizers. One speaker cautioned the crowd, “Now is the time to leave so we can come back tomorrow...people are dispersing and police are looking to pick us off.” 

The night ended with one last rally cry. 

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom,” protesters said in unison in a call and response chant. “It is our duty to win.”

[Editor's note: This story was corrected to note that, according to Wisconsin Attorney General  Josh Kaul, Jacob Blake was shot seven, not eight, times.]