Seattle Police start to clear CHOP, make 23 arrests following executive order to disperse

Kaylee Greenlee, DCNF

Seattle police arrested 23 people Wednesday morning after the mayor ordered protesters at Seattleā€™s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone to vacate within 48 hours, according to the Seattle Police Department.

Police said they arrested the individuals for failure to disperse, obstruction, resisting arrest and assault after Democratic Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an emergencyĀ executive orderĀ labeling CHOP as an unlawful assembly.

ā€œEnough is enough. The CHOP has become lawless and brutal,ā€ Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said in a statement. ā€œMy job, and the job of our officers, is to protect and serve our community. This is not an end to our departmentā€™s engagement with demonstrators.ā€

Durkanā€™s order cited 13 specific instances of alleged threats to public health, safety and life.

The mayorĀ acknowledged that ā€œmuch of the expression has been peaceful and created community solidarity for Black Lives Matter,ā€ mentioning the garden, conversation corner and art installments created withinĀ CHOP.

Durkan said she recognized the ā€œright to lawfully assemble guaranteed by the Constitution,ā€ but added that ā€œCity departments have more than reasonably accommodated protesters.ā€

ā€œThe Cityā€™s obligations under the First Amendment do not require the City to provide limitless sanctuary to occupy City property, damage City and private property, obstruct the right of way, or foster dangerous conditions,ā€ Durkan said.

Durkan ordered every city department to respond to her order, with theĀ Seattle Police DepartmentĀ maintaining the closure of the park and carrying out arrests for people who refuse to vacate the area.

The neighborhood was previously called theĀ ā€œCapitol Hill Autonomous Zoneā€Ā by activists, and was renamed the ā€œCapitol Hill Occupied Protestā€ zone or ā€œCHOPā€ mid-June, the Daily CallerĀ reported.Ā The zone is comprised of nearly six residential blocks, businesses and the Seattle Police Departmentā€™s East Precinct headquarters.

For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contactĀ licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the āˆØ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

PLEASE JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and great conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-input your email address for this. The public will not see it and we do not share it.

Latest Articles