Occupying six square blocks in Seattle since June 8, the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone [CHAZ] or more recently Capitol Hill Organized Protest [CHOP] has begun to fade after drawing threats from 74-year-old President Donald Trump to send in the National Guard. When Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee ceded the territory to Black Lives Matter and Atifia, they surrendered without a fight to the anarchy. Capitol Hill’s East Police Precinct was overrun by BLM and Antia, prompting the Durkan and Islee to tell Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best to stand down, surrendering the building to anarchists. Trump backed down, saying he would let things play out with Seattle officials. CHOP leader, Hip Hop artist Raz Simone, confirmed recent violence has driven some peaceful protesters out.
George Floyd’s May 25 chokehold death by Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin sparked street demonstrations, riots, looting, arson and anarchy around the country. BLM demanded the police departments around the country be de-funded, to re-allocate resources to the black community. “The protesters of CHAZ have targets on their backs, and that this is an issue,” Simone told CNN. “A lot of peaceful protesters are being harmed, so it’s bad that’[s where we’re in America,” Simone said. Simone doesn’t admit that so-called peaceful protesters that seized six-square blocks of a Seattle neighborhood pelted the police with projectiles, including bricks, injuring several officers, prompting Chief Best to withdraw police personnel. Simone sees more protesters leaving CHOP, believing it’s no longer safe to stay there.
When you consider the amount of violence around the country, Simone and other activists think they’ve gotten the attention of elected officials all over the country. Protesters continue to vandalize historical statues around the country, not just Confederate monuments. “A lot of people are going to leave—a lot of people already left,” Simone said, admitting that all the utopian enthusiasm over creating a police-free autonomous zone has evaporated, leaving protesters questioning why to continue living on the streets. Flooded with homeless people and other vagrants, the Autonomous zone has lost it’s luster. Protesters no longer have the same clout when they were willing to sacrifice themselves to get their demands. With more violence and medical emergencies happening in Capitol Hill, residents want the police reinstated.
Recent shootings in CHOP zone prompted many protesters to pick up and leave, realizing that the anarchists’ party was nearing an end. Once people tire of not having hot water and bathrooms, the steam goes out of makeshift communes, seeking to create a better world but finding little appealing in living on the streets. Floyd’s death prompted dialogues around the country about police reform and racism, where there’s a developing consensus that more must be done to improve inequality and police brutality. Organizers told demonstrators to stop camping out at Anderson Park. “It’s time for people to go home,” said Mayor Durkan, content that she cut BLM and Antifa as much slack as possible for the last three weeks. Seattle officials are in face-saving mode, knowing that their negligence cost deaths during the occupation.
When legal peaceful protests turn violent, they’re no longer protected by the First Amendment. First Amendment guarantees have limits, do not involve seizing neighborhoods, putting the law into protesters’ hands, committing vigilante justice. Capitol Hill residents and business owners complained that Fire Department paramedics and police could no longer enter the CHOPj zone to provide urgent medical services. “Over the coming days, City and community organizations will contie to work with individuals to encourage them to peacefully depart in the evening for their safety and safet of the surrounding community , ,, “ Durkan’s office said. Durkan knows that a number of lawsuits have been filed by Capitol Hill residents and businesses denied of emergency services while Seattle authorities abandoned the area.
Seattle’s Police Department wants to retake control of the East Precinct. Durkan’s office wants demonstrators to lead Capitol Hill and find other places in daytime hours to continue protesting. Durkan will be defending lawsuits for the city’s negligence for some time. Durkan’s office wouldn’t commit to a timetable for letting the police return to its East Precinct station. Police officials must remove the concreted barriers cordoning off the Capitol Hill neighborhood. “I think a lot of people are leaving,” Simone said in a video. “I think a few people are going ot try to just stand there and peacefully keep on protesting,” Simone said, not knowing how many homeless people would stick around even after Durkan invited protesters to leave. Fighting off lawsuits,
Durkan’s decisions will cost Seattle millions in future damage awards.
