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Capitol Hill Occupied Protest

Coordinates: 47°36′54.5″N 122°19′2.83″W / 47.615139°N 122.3174528°W / 47.615139; -122.3174528
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Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Free Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle (as of November 12, 2024)
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle (as of November 12, 2024)
LocationSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Official languagesEnglish (de facto)
GovernmentSelf-declared Anarchist commune and partially Autonomous intentional community[1]
Establishment
• Declared
June 8, 2020
Area
• Total
0.036 km2 (0.014 sq mi)
Membership~200
CurrencyU.S. dollar (de facto)
Time zoneUTC-7

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone[1] (C.H.A.Z. or the Zone), also known as Free Capitol Hill,[2] is a self-declared intentional community and commune of around 200 residents, covering about six city blocks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.[3]

Streetmap of area surrounding Free Capitol Hill, which is labelled "CHAZ".

Foundation

After days of protests commemorating George Floyd and condemning police brutality outside of the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced an evacuation of the precinct and and a complete abandonment of police presence in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Following the evacuation, citizens erected street barricades and declared the anarchist Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.[2][1]

Many occupants of the Zone have adopted a pink umbrella as an unofficial emblem.

File:CHAZJune9.jpg
The Zone on June 9, 2020.

Territory

The Zone is concentrated around the former East Precinct building. It stretches north to East Olive Street, east to 13th Avenue, south to East Pike, and west to Nagle Place. The southern half of Cal Anderson Park falls inside of the zone, while the northern half is contested.[4]

The entrance of the Zone's territory is marked by a barrier reading "You Are Entering Free Capitol Hill",[2] a homage to Northern Ireland's "Free Derry".[5]

Internal governance

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone has no centralized system of governance, operating as a de facto anarchist region. Occupants have stated their intentions of creating a neighborhood beyond policing and a society where the police are no longer necessary.[6][7][8] In lieu of a police force, external security has been provided by members of the Redneck Revolt.[9][4]

Food is being sold on most blocks of the Zone, while medical care is freely available for occupants.[10]

Recognition

No state or territory has legally seceded or achieved autonomy from the United States, with the legality of secession being heavily debated within the U.S.[11] Furthermore, no governments or governing bodies have recognized the Zone, though it has received recognition from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union.[7]

Reactions to the Zone

Mayor Durkan has stated that she will "de-escalate the situation" within the Zone,[12][4] while Seattle police chief Carmen Best said that her officers would look at different approaches to "reduce [their] footprint" in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.[10] Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant addressed the occupants directly following the Zone's founding on June 8, 2020.[4]

On June 9, Senator Ted Cruz from Texas stated that the Zone was "endangering people's lives".[13]

The Zone has been praised by IWW's Industrial Worker publication.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Anarchists & 'antifa' occupy Seattle police station abandoned by 'regime' forces, set up 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone'". June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Burns, C., Keiming, J., and Smith, R. (June 9, 2020). "The Dawn of "Free Capitol Hill"". The Stranger. Retrieved June 9, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Beekman, Daniel (9 June 2020). "Protesters and ACLU sue Seattle, blame mayor and police chief for 'unnecessary violence' at demonstrations". The Seattle Times. Seattle. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "'Welcome to Free Capitol Hill' — Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone forms around emptied East Precinct — UPDATE". Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Mac Cuarta, Anraoi (November 1973). "Saor Dhoire". Comhar. 32 (11): 4–9. doi:10.2307/20553451. JSTOR 20553451.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference DD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c James, J. F. (June 9, 2020). "The Birth of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone". Industrial Worker. Industrial Workers of the World. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  8. ^ Ruiz, Michael (June 9, 2020). "Seattle protesters declare 'cop free zone' after police leave precinct". Fox News. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  9. ^ Coburg, Tom (June 9, 2020). "Seattle sleepless as authorities mobilise after locals declare 'free zone'". The Canary. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Staff, MyNorthWest (June 9, 2020). "Live updates: Protesters establish 'Free Capitol Hill' near East Precinct". MyNorthwest. KIRO-FM. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Ketcham 1990, pp. 644–46.
  12. ^ "Protesters Establish Autonomous Zone Around Seattle PD Building as Police Retreat". Democracy Now!. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Ted Cruz [@tedcruz] (June 9, 2020). "This is endangering people's lives. #ThisIsNuts" (Tweet). Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via Twitter.

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