Seattle protesters briefly occupy City Hall, return to movie night in 'autonomous' and 'cop-free' enclave

After a tumultuous Sunday night of protests and tear gas in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, police boarded up and vacated the East Precinct headquarters Monday and the protesters moved in, setting up barriers and declaring a "cop-free" enclave they are calling the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ. On Tuesday night, hundreds of protesters marched to City Hall and occupied the empty building for about an hour, listening to speeches and calls for the resignation of Mayor Jenny Durkan and defunding police department. They didn't have to break in — Kshama Sawant, a member of the city council, brought her key and let them in, King 5 reports.

The protesters left City Hall at about 10 p.m., and by 11 p.m., several groups of protesters had congregated back at CHAZ to watch the Ava DuVernay documentary 13th, about racial inequality in America and the criminal justice system, The Seattle Times reports. The autonomous zone includes a memorial to George Floyd, a snack station, a medic booth, and a section for street artists.

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