Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan defends ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’ as ‘patriotic’

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Thursday defended the protesters who have declared an “autonomous zone” on the city’s streets as “patriotic.”

In her remarks to the press, Durkan also said President Trump’s threat to send in federal forces to crack down on the protesters was “unconstitutional and illegal.”

“Unfortunately, our President wants to tell a story about domestic terrorists who have a radical agenda and are promoting a conspiracy that fits his law-and-order initiatives,” Durkan said, according to Patch.

“It’s simply not true. Lawfully gathering and expressing First Amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society, and providing true equity for communities of color is not terrorism. It’s patriotism.”

She was referring to an area in the city’s Capitol Hill zone, where cops and protesters have repeatedly clashed in front of a police precinct over the last two weeks following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

Protesters now occupy a six-block perimeter dubbed “CHAZ” — short for the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” — around the East Precinct, which was boarded up and deserted on Monday.

The situation caught the attention of Trump, who on Thursday demanded that local authorities step in to take the streets back from “ugly Anarchists” — or he would.

In her remarks, Durkan said officials were in communication with residents, business owners and protesters in the zone, adding “it is not an armed Antifa militia, it is not a no-go zone.”

“We will make sure we find some way for people to continue to protest peacefully,” she said.

Aside from reports of vandalism, property damage and the occasional fight, “no serious incidents” were documented inside the area, Durkan said.

Neither Durkan nor Police Chief Carmen Best, who was also at the press conference, detailed specific plans for how to deal with the zone or a timeline for when cops would return to the precinct.