Antifa prepares to defend former autonomous zone in Seattle where CHAZ once stood

Ahead of an anticipated homeless encampment sweep at Cal Anderson Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, insurgents barricaded the park’s perimeter. Anti-police and anarchist graffiti covered the fencing. One message read: “Marry Lenin, F— Biden.”

Organizers dropped off wooden pallets in pick-up trucks to build their makeshift walls to keep city crews out during Wednesday’s planned sweep.

Squatters were told to clear out but many refused to evacuate. Entrances were blocked at Pine Street and 11th Avenue.

Five entries in total were blockaded, The Post Millennial’s Seattle correspondent Ari Hoffman reported at the scene.

A fire was intentionally set to a homeless tent with several fireworks inside.

The city has postponed the expected sweep while the parks department is assessing the site and preparing for a multi-day "intensive maintenance and cleaning,” KING 5 News reported.

According to Seattle Parks, recent maintenance efforts "have been met with threats of physical violence,” requiring the department to request police assistance.

Overnight, black bloc protesters threw rocks at local reporters who were forced to abandon their live shot of the park. “Now I know how @SeattlePD feels. My crew is safe. @SeattleParks will have hands full during Wed sweep,” KOMO News journalist Jonathan Choe wrote on Twitter.

An additional Q13 News crew was harassed by the park occupants Wednesday morning, as was anyone passing by snapping pictures of the barriers.

The violent confrontation appeared to emulate the incident at Portland’s Red House Autonomous Zone (RHAZ) where KATU-TV reporters were surrounded and assaulted by Antifa militants when they attempted to film inside the occupied space.

In September, the Seattle Police Department protected the Seattle Parks Department while they dismantled the homeless encampment that had grown in Cal Anderson Park since the end of the infamous Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

According to SPD, officers providing security during a Seattle Parks Department cleanup at Cal Anderson Park "...recovered homemade spike strips, weapons and dozens of makeshift shields inside of tents in the area."

At the time, activists at the park and on social media spent the day berating SPD for the cleanup claiming that they were just there to "feed the homeless." Similarly, activists claimed this week that they are there to "protect the homeless." Yet witnesses Wednesday afternoon reported hearing electric drills, saws, and other tools being used in the park. The previous stockpile calls into question if Antifa is using the place again as a base and the homeless for cover.

The homeless encampments in the park have led to an increase in crime in the park and the neighborhood, most notably a gruesome murder/suicide in September, allegedly by known homeless prolific offender Travis Berge.

Nearby businesses and residents have since signed a petition in support of the encampment sweep. Multiple Antifa accounts are now blacklisting those companies and individuals, listing names, titles, and addresses.