From Fox News:
Community leaders and an activist whose brother was killed by Seattle police in 2016 are urging protesters occupying the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or CHOP, to leave by Wednesday night.
In a statement addressed to “comrades in the struggle” posted on social media Wednesday, CHOP organizers declared, “It is time we shift to the next phase of our organizing and move from direct action to virtual activism.”
“The CHOP project is now concluded,” the lengthy message said. “While we expect a very small handful of holdouts may try to remain in the CHOP no further organizing will be occurring to support this presence and the number on-site will be too small to be more than an annoyance for pedestrians rather than a zonal blockade.”
An important message from #CHOP #CHOPSeattle. Please amplify. Thank you for your support over the last two weeks. #ChopWasASuccess #CHOPcomms #CHOPCHAZ ☂️☂️☂️ #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/7e5ISrWvX6
— Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (Official Account) (@CHOPOfficialSEA) June 24, 2020
“We have been briefed that full rehousing of the SPD East Precinct staff into the station will occur no later than early next week and will be preceded by the removal of barriers and the reopening of streets to traffic,” the statement said.
The statement then urged supporters to vote for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and to reelect Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, both Democrats.
Read the full report at Fox News.
SEATTLE SPIRALS: Police Chief Has ‘Epiphany’ After Visiting ‘CHAZ,’ Says ‘Policing Will Never Be the Same’
Seattle’s embattled Police Chief had an “epiphany” over the weekend after attending George Floyd protests; saying “policing will never be the same.”
“I was looking at the 60,000 people that were there, signs saying, you know, defund the police, stop police brutality, you know, no qualified immunity. And there were thousands of people carrying those particular signs,” said Chief Carmen Best.
“And I just realized it was a moment, an epiphany, that this is a pivotal moment in history. We are going to move in a different direction and policing will never be the same as it was before,” she added.
“We need to re-imagine and re-figure out how we’re going to move forward as a country and as an organization to make things better for everybody,” she said during the interview with “Face the Nation.”
Read the full report here.
Source: Fox News
BATTLE for SEATTLE: President Trump Tells Local Officials ‘Take Back Your City, OR I WILL’
President Trump vowed to restore law and order in Seattle Thursday after protesters stormed city hall, demanded the mayor’s resignation, and created a six-block ‘Autonomous Zone’ in the heart of the city.
“Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before. Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!” posted Trump on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1270914092295950337
From Fox News:
Seattle police say they have received reports of armed guards and potential extortion in a self-declared autonomous zone that spans several blocks and includes a now-closed precinct.
“We’ve heard, anecdotally, reports of citizens and businesses being asked to pay a fee to operate within this area. This is the crime of extortion. If anyone has been subjected to this, we need them to call 911,” Assistant Chief of Police Deanna Nollette said on Wednesday.
Protesters calling to defund the police and make sweeping reforms to law enforcement tactics have declared a six-block region — spanning 13th Avenue past 11th Avenue, near Cal Anderson Park, and from East Olive Street to East Pike Street — the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ).
The region encompasses the SPD’s East Precinct, which was abandoned by cops on Monday following days of violent clashes between law enforcement and protesters in the wake of George Floyd’s death, as well as parts of Capitol Hill.
Read the full report here.