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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 neighborhood within the City of Seattle
Capitol Hill neighborhood within the City of Seattle
LocationSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Official languagesEnglish (de facto)
GovernmentAnarchist commune and partially autonomous intentional community
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 (C.H.A.Z., The Zone), also known as Free Capitol Hill,[1] is an intentional community and commune of about 200 residents, covering about six city blocks in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Seattle, Washington. [2]

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.[1][3]

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".[1]

Internal governance

Due to the recent forming of the Zone, there is currently no system of governance, either announced or implemented. It is currently a defacto anarchist state, and it remains to see if that changes. External security has been provided by the John Brown Gun Club.[5][4]

Food is being sold on most blocks of the Zone, while medical care is freely available for occupants.[6]

Contention over legitimacy

No state or territory has legally seceded from the United States in the past, and the legality of such a thing is questioned. Furthermore, no other government or governing body recognizes the sovereignty of the proposed state. This calls into concern the legitimacy and longevity of this proposed independent territory.[citation needed]

Reactions to the Autonomous Zone

Mayor Durkan has stated that she will "de-escalate the situation" within the Zone,[7][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.[6] Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant addressed the occupants directly following the Zone's founding on June 8, 2020.[4]

The Zone has been praised by IWW's Industrial Worker publication.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Thalen, Mikael (9 June 2020). "Seattle Protesters Set Up A Barricaded 'Cop-Free Zone'". dailydot.com. The Daily Dot. 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, Washington. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Coburg, Tom (June 9, 2020). "Seattle sleepless as authorities mobilise after locals declare 'free zone'". The Canary. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Staff, MyNorthWest (June 9, 2020). "Live updates: Protesters establish 'Free Capitol Hill' near East Precinct". MyNorthwest. KIRO-FM. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Protesters Establish Autonomous Zone Around Seattle PD Building as Police Retreat". Democracy Now!. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  8. ^ 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.

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