Demands emerge from protestors claiming to be in Seattle's Capital Hill Autonomous Zone

A group claiming to be the leadership of occupiers of the Capitol Hill neighbourhood in Seattle, have published a list of demands for a return of the area which has become known as The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ).

There are reports that life inside the CHAZ, however, is not exactly utopian, and that activists are extorting money from businesses located within that zone.

At the CHAZ, every news agency is in town is present, and the organizers are giving tours. It's wide open and people are walking around inside like it's an attraction. There are very few protestors around, but they are wearing name tags and talking to media.

Those with name tags are coming up to people, they're talking about their cause, about wanting to bring awareness to what happened to George Floyd, and then they launch into this list of demands.

The list of demands makes scarce mention of the death of George Floyd and instead appears to be a wish list of long held socialist, anarchist and Antifa principles.

It reads:

"In credit to the people who freed Capitol Hill, this list of demands is neither brief nor simplistic. This is no simple request to end police brutality. We demand that the City Council and the Mayor, whoever that may be, implement these policy changes for the cultural and historic advancement of the City of Seattle, and to ease the struggles of its people.

"This document is to represent the black voices who spoke in victory at the top of 12th & Pine after 9 days of peaceful protest while under constant nightly attack from the Seattle Police Department. These are words from that night, June 8th, 2020.

"Given the historical moment, we’ll begin with our demands pertaining to the Justice System.

1. The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition.
2. In the transitionary period between now and the dismantlement of the Seattle Police Department, we demand that the use of armed force be banned entirely. No guns, no batons, no riot shields, no chemical weapons, especially against those exercising their First Amendment right as Americans to protest
3. We demand decriminalization of the acts of protest, and amnesty for protestors generally…
4. We demand the City of Seattle and State Government release any prisoner currently serving time just for resisting arrest if there are no other related charges, and that those convictions should also be expunge
5. We demand that prisoners currently serving time be given the full and unrestricted right to vote, and for Washington State to pass legislation specifically breaking from Federal law that prevents felons from being able to vote.
6. We demand the abolition of imprisonment, generally speaking, but especially the abolition of both youth prisons and privately-owned, for-profit prisons.
7. We demand the de-gentrification of Seattle, starting with rent control.
8. We demand free college for the people of the state of Washington, due to the overwhelming effect that education has on economic success, and the correlated overwhelming impact of poverty on people of color, as a form of reparations for the treatment of Black people in this state and country.
9. We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that Seattle Police be prohibited from performing “homeless sweeps” that displace and disturb our homeless neighbors, and on equal footing we demand an end to all evictions.
10. We demand a decentralized election process to give the citizens of Seattle a greater ability to select candidates for public office such that we are not forced to choose at the poll between equally undesirable options.

The list ends by mentioning their race related demands for segregated public health services:

“We demand the hospitals and care facilities of Seattle employ black doctors and nurses specifically to help care for black patients."

"We demand that the city create an entirely separate system staffed by mental health experts to respond to 911 calls pertaining to mental health crises, and insist that all involved in such a program be put through thorough, rigorous training in conflict de-escalation"

The demand letter concludes by listing some of the known organizers of the riots:

"Special thanks to Magik for starting and facilitating the discussion to create this list, to Omari Salisbury for the idea to break the list into categories, and as well a thanks to Kshama Sawant for being the only Seattle official to discuss with the people on Free Capitol Hill the night that it was liberated."

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has been called up to resign by several council members, including Council Member Kshama Sawant, as well as the mob that occupies Seattle streets. Sawant was part of the organized group that took over City Hall and has supported Antifa-lef violence.

There appears to be coordinated messaging in removing the mayor to be replaced with someone more sympathetic to their demands.

The full list of demands can be viewed here.