Amid the latest wave of racial justice protests, Seattle started to get national attention for an area called CHAZ. CHAZ (later renamed CHOP) referred to the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” or “Capitol Hill Organized Protest.” It was a police-free zone set up near an abandoned police precinct.
But after some violence broke out, Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an emergency order to leave the area at the beginning of the month. Police started to clear people out.
Nevertheless, protests have continued. Over the weekend, police used pepper spray and flash bang grenades on a crowd of nearly 2,000 people. Fires and property damage were also reported, all according to KUOW.
And last week, over a dozen federal forces landed in the area — reportedly, without the knowledge of the mayor. Durkan said “if federal forces intervene against demonstrators like they have in Portland, the city of Seattle is prepared to pursue “every legal recourse,'” KUOW reported.
We talk about the latest developments in Seattle’s racial justice protests.
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