Antifa militants from the John Brown Gun Club set up the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” complete with barricades, guards armed with AR 15’s and signs saying “you are now leaving the USA.”
While violent riots and looting have destroyed downtown Seattle and many businesses, including those owned by minorities in the Chinatown/International District, several Seattle City Council members continue encouraging the violence, called to defund the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and have given over one neighbourhood over to armed Antifa militants.
On Monday night SPD was ordered to abandon the East Precinct of the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Seattle. The location has been the flashpoint of the riots for over a week. While video clearly shows protesters starting attacks on police before the launch of tear gas and flash bangs, activists have claimed the police actions were unprovoked.
SPD officers were seen packing up equipment and material all day from the 3rd precinct and wheeling in shredders. The windows were boarded up and no officers were seen for blocks. By nightfall, Antifa militants from the John Brown Gun Club had set up a 6 square block “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” complete with barricades to create a border and John Brown Gun Club guards armed with AR 15’s patrolling the area controlling entry and signs saying “you are now leaving the USA.”
However, Seattle elected officials may have underestimated the power of the mob of their self created insurrection. Following the surrender of the neighborhood to activists that created a “go no go zone” for media and anyone they deemed a threat.
On Tuesday Night Marxist Council Member Kshama Sawant led a protest of thousands in a takeover of Seattle City Hall. Once the crowd had gathered in city hall, Sawant began to speak about imposing a tax on Amazon and not Black Lives Matter and racism, which led to her being booed by the crowd. They accused Sawant of using the rally for her own political means and quickly turned on her.
Sawant who has a history of vilifying Seattle police officers, tweeted support for the riots while they were happening.
Seattle Council Members have spent the last two weeks embracing looting and rioting and may have let the “experiment escape the lab” in their effort to grab more power.
In response to the Police defending themselves during riots the past week using tear gas and flashbangs, Council members have been calling for the defunding and abolishment of the SPD and for Mayor Jenny Durkan to resign.
This fuelled speculation that this is an attempt by the radical City Council to replace the Mayor with one of their own and bring on another socialist activist. Since the beginning of Mayor’s coronavirus emergency order, the council has tried to pass extreme agenda items such as a $500 per employee tax on Amazon, but been stopped by the Mayor’s veto on items that fall under her emergency order.
The council now appears to be trying to remove the Mayor as an obstacle as rioters chant for her removal. Multiple council members were at the protests over the weekend praising the rioters. Sawant even claimed to be gassed by the police and yet there has been no corroborating evidence of that.
Council Member Teresa Mosqueda, who has ambitions to be Seattle’s next Mayor, is a longtime supporter of Antifa, and has even dressed her child in Antifa t-shirts. This week during her live stream of another Seattle riot, a man Mosqueda was interviewing said: "SPD, I need you to do me a favor. Take your guns, put them onto your chins, and pull the trigger," the man yelled.
"I need you to kill yourselves. That’s your only redemption. Go ahead, save us the trouble of tearing you apart and *****ing kill yourselves. Did I stutter? I said ‘k-k-k-kill yourselves. ****ing kill yourselves. It’s the only chance you have left to do something good for the world and that’s remove yourself from it…" Mosqueda did not challenge him on the comments and instead answered. "The anger that you hear is justified."
Mosqueda justified the riots and falsely claimed during the video meeting that "The very thing that everybody was protesting, excessive police force, was met by a militarized response. Yes, it was stoked by the President, and yes, it was stoked by others, but it was carried out right in our city."
Rioters were seen recorded attacking police officers, burning police vehicles and even stole 2 police AR-15’s which were later recovered by a security guard for Q 13 Fox reporters covering the riots.
Seattle is no stranger to Antifa violence. Antifa has been a visible presence in Seattle since 2016 with ties to local Democrat leaders. All current council members as well as the mayor have been endorsed by the local Democrat parties controlled by those activists.
The riots and looting are supported by many of the Seattle City Council members. Last week in a video council meeting about the riots, Socialist Council Member Tammy Morales said she can’t figure out “why looting bothers people” when “people die everyday.”
"...what I don't want to hear is for our constituents to be told to be civil, not to be reactionary, to be told looting doesn't solve anything. It does make me wonder and ask the question why looting bothers people so much more than knowing that across the country, black men and women are dying every day, and far too often at the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve,” said Morales.
Morales is one of the newest members of the Seattle City Council and ran on a slate of socialist candidates including Marxist and police abolitionists like Kshama Sawant and former Bernie Sanders staffer Shawn Scott.
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Though Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan condemned the looting and rioting she tweeted, "I want to acknowledge that much of the violence and destruction, both here in Seattle and across the country, has been instigated and perpetrated by white men."
Last week, the mayor did not enforce her own mandated curfew against the protestors as more rioting continued across the city. Many were quick to question why a city with a history of activism and violent protests on May Day since the 1999 WTO “Battle in Seattle” riots and in the midst of Coronavirus Stay at Home orders was not better prepared for the violence.
SPD officers appear to have been given stand down orders to not arrest looters and are seen standing idly by destruction of storefronts in multiple videos. Weapons were banned in the area by an emergency order by the Mayor, so small business owners were not allowed to defend their own livelihoods.
Governor Jay Inslee tweeted that he was sending in 200 National Guard troops to assist who were “unarmed.”
Reinforcements for Seattle police did not arrive for serval hours after the riots began, causing many to question if city officials were truly committed to preventing the destruction. Many residents openly announced plans to move out of Seattle following the inability of the government to protect them while simultaneously not allowing them to protect themselves.
Though the National Guard was preparing to be present in Seattle for the foreseeable future, the governor appears to have reversed course as National Guard units have reported to be demobilizing and soldiers have been told they will not be needed in Seattle as planned.
After city hall was occupied Tuesday night, there are reports that the West Seattle precinct, which houses the city’s 911 call centre, will be the next target. Now with city council support and no pushback because of one party rule in Seattle and Washington, there appears to be no end in sight to the insurrection. Seattle has been surrendered to the mob.