‘It is time we shift to the next phase of our organizing and move from direct action to virtual activism…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) Seattle’s autonomous zone leaders are finally encouraging protesters to “go home” after several nights of violence.
The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), formerly known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), is beginning to dissolve as protesters leave the area.
Fewer than two dozen protesters were near the East Precinct, the CHOP Twitter account stated—a number “we expect to continue to drop.”
“It is time we shift to the next phase of our organizing and move from direct action to virtual activism,” the account said.
“The CHOP project is now concluded,” it continued. “While we expect a very small handful of holdouts may try to remain in the CHOP, no further organizing will be occurring to support this presence.”
The group encouraged its protesters to vote for presidential candidate Joe Biden. It also lent its endorsement to the reelection efforts of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, both of whom refused to shut down the anarchists after they overtook the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct station.
Durkan finally spoke out against the CHOP after a 17-year-old boy was shot in the arm within the zone’s vicinity.
“It’s time for people to go home,” Durkan said.
But residents within the zone had been warning Durkan and Seattle’s authorities that crime was running rampant within the zone.
“People come down here and they push the envelope,” said Rick Hearns, who joined the protests within the CHOP zone, according to K-5.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used my mace,” he said.
At least four shootings have occurred in the CHOP over the past week. Lorenzo Anderson, 19, was shot and killed last Saturday. A second man was also shot on Saturday. A third man was shot on Sunday, and a fourth on Tuesday.