Antifa, Jacobin Hordes Besiege Seattle, Erect ‘Autonomous Zone’ Where U.S. Law Doesn’t Apply

June 10, 2020 (EIRNS)—As reported by RT and the Seattle Times, a group of Antifa and anarchists in Seattle established the “Free Capitol Hill Zone” or “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ), in an area next to the police department’s abandoned East Precinct. It’s not clear why the police abandoned the precinct on the evening of June 8—Police Chief Carmen Best described it as an exercise in “trust and de-escalation” following the two previous days’ violent protest.

Then yesterday, according to Forbes, a large group of protesters, led by City Council member Kshama Sawant, occupied City Hall for an hour, demanding the resignation of Mayor Jenny Durkan. Shortly before that, Black Lives Matter had announced a lawsuit against the Seattle Police Department, charging it had violated protesters’ Constitutional rights by harshly repressing them.

Armed individuals have been seen in the area as well, including members of the John Brown Gun Club, a leftist militia that also goes by the name of “Redneck Revolt.” They showed up to offer help, “some armed,” RT reported. From all reports, the CHAZ is being set up as a permanent site, with barricades establishing its “borders.” One militant reported that local businesses and residents have agreed to “disaffiliate from Seattle basically,” calling the situation “a flux state in the making.” Those entering the zone past the barricades are told they are now leaving the United States.

The Seattle Times reported that organizers are using the liberated area surrounding the abandoned precinct for various activities—street art, a George Floyd memorial, a medics booth. Flyers being distributed demand the defunding of the Seattle Police Department, declaring that “police will always be racist because capitalism requires inequality.”