A Wisconsin nonprofit group leading an illegal protest encampment that blocked traffic enjoys lavish federal, state, and local funding.
The city of Madison awarded Freedom Inc. at least $149,000 this year for initiatives such as “[Southeast Asian] and Black Youth Programs” after years of similar community-focused grants, records show. The city’s awards offer a glimpse of the more than $5 million in government funds that flowed to Freedom Inc. since 2020, including from the Department of Justice and state officials.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is now condemning protesters reacting to a July police shooting after they camped out in the street for days, forcing shuttered businesses to lose money and emergency vehicles to detour. Online posts from those involved show Freedom Inc. pitching a tent inside the so-called “autonomous zone,” handing out supplies to protesters, and forming their “demands” to the city for policy change, the Washington Examiner reported.
The city cleared the encampment on Tuesday morning after Rhodes-Conway spent days pleading with protesters to disperse on their own, according to media reports and Rhodes-Conway’s Tuesday comments. Rioters threw rocks and other debris at city workers during the dispersal, leading to “a small number” of arrests, she said. “Again, multiple efforts and calls to end the occupation peacefully were made but ultimately ignored,” the mayor said.
Freedom Inc. stood firm on Tuesday, posting a joint Instagram post with other groups that declared “shame” on the arresting officers. The charity is organizing a “Mass Mobilization” protest for Tuesday evening at Wisconsin’s state capitol in Madison.
Rhodes-Conway’s office and Freedom Inc. did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment. Madison requires funding recipients to sign contracts explaining that they will comply with all relevant laws, ordinances, and regulations. Freedom Inc. is not currently accused of illegal activity.
The Madison protests happened against the backdrop of a competitive Democratic primary election for governor on Aug. 11. Socialist candidate Francesca Hong, a state lawmaker who worked with Freedom Inc. on an education bill, told supporters in a July 22 statement that the group was “on the scene supporting community members” at the Madison demonstration.
Battling ‘the state’ as it helps pay their bills
Like other leftist tax-exempt charities, Freedom Inc. attracts public funds for seemingly charitable programs while directing its overall resources toward political advocacy. The group described its mission in IRS filings as “to achieve social justice through coupling direct services with leadership development and community organizing.”
Madison’s stated reasons for bankrolling Freedom Inc. since 2024 included “Older Adult Services,” “Family Strengthening” for black and Southeast Asian women, youth, and LGBT people, as well as a “Nkauj Hmoob Hmong Girls Group” and a “Black Girls Matter” program.
Rhodes-Conway’s administration also announced $50,000 in 2020 for the nonprofit group to help foreigners overcome “obstacles such as immigration status and lack of documentation that prevent or make it more difficult” to obtain COVID-19 welfare funds.
Former President Joe Biden’s DOJ also awarded Freedom Inc. $475,000 in 2024 “to enhance culturally specific services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking,” federal records show. Between 2023 and 2026, Wisconsin’s Department of Justice awarded the charity hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal DOJ funds related to crime victim programs.
Freedom Inc. reported a separate $548,863 from the state’s Department of Children and Families in 2020 for “Immigrant and Refugee” work, “Under-represented Populations,” “Pandemic Shelter,” and other purposes.
The DOJ and the two Wisconsin departments did not respond to requests for comment.
WHO’S BEHIND WISCONSIN’S ANTI-POLICE ‘AUTONOMOUS ZONE’ TAKING OVER CITY STREETS?
Though Rhodes-Conway described the recent encampment as disorganized, Freedom Inc. assumed a leading role by hosting educational sessions, providing “abolish police” signs and other gear, and serving as a contact point for planning protest “actions,” according to activists’ online posts. Freedom Inc. also worked with the family of Corey Ruiz, who was killed in the July shooting, to write down and distribute demands that Madison defund its police, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said.
“OUR ONLY ENEMY IS THE STATE,” Freedom Inc. declared on Saturday during the encampment.