Here’s What The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone Protesters Are DemandingJack Brewster
Jun 13, 2020,02:25pm EDT
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/06/13/heres-what-the-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone-protesters-are-demanding/#195c817f36c5< Edited >
KEY FACTS
The self-declared autonomous zone was established by protesters who barricaded the area around a Seattle police precinct on June 8 and since then, demonstrators have offered movie screenings, poetry performances, free food, medical supplies, and more in a makeshift camping area.
Sections of the sidewalk have been partitioned for a “Conversation Café” where a sign invites people to “talk about antifascism” and a “No-cop Co-Op” where free food is handed out.
The reason the protesters are there is clear — Floyd’s death ignited a spark that led to unrest that played out in cities across the country — but the demands of the protests are not, evident by the divergent messaging coming from people within the zone.
One wall inside the zone lists three demands — defund the Police Department; fund community health; and drop all criminal charges against protesters, the New York Times reports — while another fence lists five.
On Medium, the “Free Capitol Hill” movement published a list of 30 demands in a post that includes the “de-gentrification of Seattle, starting with rent control” and the “abolition of imprisonment,” while the Seattle Times reports that some protesters simply want to turn the police precinct into a community center.
Local Black Lives Matter leaders have said they will vacate the area once their demands have been met and have called the occupation “temporary,” but for now, the protest zone has won the tacit approval of the city’s government, the New York Times reports, and on Friday no police were visible in the area, according to the Wall Street Journal.
KEY BACKGROUND
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has faced criticism from all angles. Carmen Best, the city’s police chief, said in a video statement on Youtube Thursday that the decision to leave the police station was not hers and that she was upset with how the situation has developed. “I’m angry about how all this came about,” she said. Meanwhile, some protesters have directed their rage at Durkan for not pushing through more reform, and for not responding more forcefully to the harsh crowd control tactics used by police to quell the protests. On Tuesday, protesters in Seattle took over City Hall for about an hour and demanded her resignation hours after a Black Lives Matter group sued the Seattle Police Department, alleging that the city has violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators by using rough crowd control tactics. Durkan and Police Chief Best have tweaked police tactics, including ordering officers to display badge numbers and banning the use of tear gas for at least 30 days. Durkan has also promised to invest at least $100 million into minority communities and to establish a community-driven Black Commission. The city council is looking into tweaking the police budget as well.
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