Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan snapped back at President Donald Trump after he tweeted his disapproval of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. The Zone was set up in Seattle after police vacated a region where they had clashed with protesters multiple times. The Autonomous Zone is now filled with co-ops, a medical station, signs with demands for the local police department, and various shows of solidarity.
After weeks of clashing with police in Seattle, protestors created the Zone in response to their frustration with the local police department. Protests against police brutality have taken on massive momentum in the weeks following the death of George Floyd. Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police ignited widespread Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.
Furious over the Autonomous Zone, Trump took to Twitter to vent his frustration. Tweeting at Mayor Durkan and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Trump vented “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will”. In another Tweet, Trump alleged “Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats, of course. LAW & ORDER!”
Durkan snapped back in short order, tweeting “Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker”.
Durkan refers here to a news story that broke weeks ago when Trump was escorted to the presidential bunker during protests in the capitol. Ridicule over his perceived hiding in the bunker has allegedly incensed the president greatly in recent weeks. In the tweet, Durkan also added the Black Lives Matter hashtag, showing her support for the recent protests.
Following weeks of clashing with protesters, Seattle police eventually vacated a precinct in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This resulted in protesters quickly moving in and turning police barricades into the borders for their new zone. Within the Autonomous Zone, there are no police. The area has declared itself independent from the US.
As onlookers are transfixed by the odd development, many pundits have pointed out how the Zone offers a unique look at an American neighborhood with no police. Recent protests have ratcheted up calls to defund police departments in order to invest in community safety initiatives. The CHAZ is a fascinating experiment.
As for the future of the Autonomous Zone, that is unclear. Whether the best medical personnel, the best roofing contractors and the best creative minds will flock to a neighborhood with no police is unclear. But, for now, the zone stands as a bizarre monument to a protest movement that wouldn’t back down.
