King County Superior Court approves petition for an election to recall Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan

The ruling followed charges that were filed by a group of 5 people amid local protests against so-called racism and police brutality, according to the Seattle Times.

The recall effort against Durkan, known as the "Fire the Mayor" campaign, has accused the mayor of "endanger(ing) the peace and safety of the community" by permitting the police to "leak false information about fabricated crimes and threats to the media." Added was the complaint that the authorities had issued a curfew without giving the public a sufficient amount of time to prepare.

One petitioner, Elliott Harvey, said: "Jenny Durkan's abuses of power, lack of foresight and failure to protect the public—and the peace—in Seattle leaves us with no choice."

"This is exactly the kind of case a recall is intended to address."

Though Judge Mary E. Roberts found 6 of 7 charges against Durkan to be "insufficient," she allowed one, which accused Durkan of deploying CS gas and other crowd control methods.

"This court’s role in this case is limited," Roberts wrote. “At this stage of a recall effort, the court is to assume that the Recall Petitioners’ allegations are true, and to determine whether if true, they can support a recall.”

A ballot synopsis was also approved by Roberts, which stated: "Mayor Durkan endangered the peace and safety of the community and violated her duties under state and local laws and her oath to uphold the federal and state constitutions when she failed to institute new policies and safety measures for the Seattle Police Department after learning of the use of chemical agents on peaceful protesters as a means of crowd control during a public health emergency.”

In addition to this, the city of Seattle is also having a class-action lawsuit filed by a group of residents and businesses within Capitol Hill for the "extensive harm" they have endured as a result of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP).