Seattle residents sue the city to shut down autonomous zone
Residents of Seattle have been coping with the existence of an Antifa-run “autonomous zone” in the middle of the Capitol Hill district, where far-left activists and Black Lives Matter supporters erected a shanty town spanning six city blocks.
Now they’re suing the city to shut it down.
Home to numerous transients, insurgents, and run-of-the-mill far-left activists, the autonomous zone dubbed the “CHAZ” or “CHOP” has seen four shootings (one of which resulted in a fatality) since its establishment on June 8.
Numerous rapes, robberies, and assaults have also taken place in the vicinity of the area, some of which have been caught on camera.
Even as violence broke out in the CHAZ, Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan described the occupied zone as having a “bloc party atmosphere” that serves as “a peaceful expression of our community’s collective grief and their desire to build a better world.”
The Daily Beast claimed that local businesses “love the ‘Domestic Terror’ zone in Seattle, actually.”
Contrary to the media’s coverage, a collection of Seattle businesses and property owners in Capitol Hill are now suing the city for its continued tolerance of the occupied area. They argue that city officials have been complicit in its existence and have been depriving them of their property rights.
The plaintiffs include a tattoo parlor, auto repair shop, and a property management firm.
Washington Times reports that the lawsuit is not intended to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement or the message put out by the occupied zone, but rather the city’s neglect of residents in the area—not that it makes any difference. Either way, they want it shut down, and they’re suing the city to do it.
“Rather, this lawsuit is about the constitutional and other legal rights of plaintiffs - businesses, employees, and residents in and around CHOP - which have been overrun by the city of Seattle’s unprecedented decision to abandon and close off an entire city neighborhood, leaving it unchecked by the police, unserved by fire and emergency health services, and inaccessible to the public at large,” reads the lawsuit.
The Seattle City Attorney’s Office says they have not yet reviewed the lawsuit but intend to do so.
Mayor Jenny Durkan said this week that she intends to shut down the zone by encouraging demonstrators to leave voluntarily, but did not offer any specific timeline for the departure of the insurgents, who told the media that they have no plans to leave.
Across the country, Antifa activists have been attempting to set up other so-called “autonomous zones,” drawing inspiration from the Seattle base.
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