After days of clashes with protesters outside the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct, authorities backed down on Monday, removing barricades and boarding up the building. Since then, protesters have moved in, proclaiming the area the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” where the police are forbidden, food is free and documentaries are screened at night.
To some protesters, it’s a first step toward their demands to defund the police and end racial injustice.
But President Trump suggested another term for the demonstrators late Wednesday: “Domestic Terrorists.” Trump blasted Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Twitter, threatening federal action if local leaders don’t “take back” the city.
“Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before,” Trump tweeted. “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped (sic) IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!”
Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before. Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2020
Both Durkan and Inslee swiftly hit back at Trump.
“A man who is totally incapable of governing should stay out of Washington state’s business. ‘Stoop’ tweeting,” Inslee wrote on Twitter, mocking Trump for a misspelling in his tweet.
Trump’s latest tweets echo his earlier threats to use military force to quell unrest as thousands took the streets nationwide to decry police brutality. Those threats led to an unprecedented backlash against the president from high-ranking former military officers.
Although Trump’s tweets didn’t specifically name the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, also nicknamed the CHAZ, his comments appeared directed at the movement — a major topic on conservative-friendly media on Wednesday.
Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show on Wednesday night included an alarming report on the CHAZ, describing a “complete takeover of a seven-block area of a Seattle neighborhood,” and alleging that armed protesters are patrolling the area.
Soon after moving in on Tuesday, the protesters hung a banner on the police precinct proclaiming, “THIS SPACE IS NOW PROPERTY OF THE SEATTLE PEOPLE,” the Seattle Times reported. Protesters later screened Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13th,” which highlights racial inequities in the justice system. At least one man with a long gun was seen in the area, the Times reported, despite a ban on weapons on Capitol Hill, but the scene has been peaceful since police left the area.
Inside the zone, the protesters have held long “town halls” to discuss their plans and to hash out a strategy. Speakers on Wednesday took turns on a stage with loudspeakers, sharing their visions for change with an attentive crowd seated in a wide semicircle.
“From what I’ve gathered, we’re trying to take our community back so we can live without a massive police force patrolling the streets,” one protester, Michael Taylor, told the Times.
It’s unclear how long police will steer clear of the group. Durkan, who has faced calls to resign over the police’s use of tear gas and flash bangs on protesters, hasn’t directly addressed the autonomous zone. Asked about the CHAZ on Wednesday, Inslee declined to comment, saying, “That’s news to me.”
Trump’s stance was clear, however, as he blasted the movement as a dangerous development aided by his political opponents.
“Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats, of course,” Trump tweeted.
Later on Wednesday inside the CHAZ, protesters set up tents and prepared for another night on the streets. A funk/hip-hop group called Marshall Law Band played a concert, the Times reported, and then protesters gathered for another documentary: the 1990 exploration of underground LGBTQ dance culture, “Paris Is Burning.”
