Seattle's mayor says it's time to break up autonomous zone, gives no real timeline or process

Seattle's Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), the police-free area just outside of downtown formerly known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), had two shootings over the weekend, and one of the three people shot, a 19-year-old male, died. The shootings are still under investigation, and it's not clear they are related to the protest at all, but Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said Monday evening that CHOP needs to wind down.

"It's time for people to go home," Durkan said. "It's time to restore Cal Anderson Park and Capitol Hill. The impacts on the businesses and residents and community are now too much," and "the impacts have increased and the safety has decreased," especially when night falls. She did not provide a time frame, and said "it would not be an effective strategy to simply send police in to try to clear the area," but if the occupation doesn't end, "additional steps" will be considered.

CHOP grew out of a violent police crackdown on protesters on Capitol Hill, one of the hundreds that sprang up nationwide after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Police vacated the East Precinct the next day and the protesters moved in, setting up barricades, then snack booths, art areas, a movie screening mechanism, and ad hoc security arrangements. There have been incidents, including attempted rape and burglary, but the protesters have handled the situation, The Stranger reports. One Capitol Hill resident told The Associated Press the area shifts from happy and peaceful to tense and violent on a dime.

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Durkan also promised to meet some of the demands from the protesters, including investing more in Black communities and reforming policing in Seattle, but she also said the police will be moving back into the East Precinct building. "We will be doing it peacefully and in the near future," she said.