Protesters Take Over City Hall with Help from Council Member
A chaotic night of protests in Seattle on Tuesday included the occupation of City Hall led by a socialist City Council member.
Seattle protesters declared one section of the city near the Police Department’s East Precinct — which had been abandoned — the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” where dozens of protesters are camping out between demonstrations.
Protesters want the police permanently thrown out of the precinct building to make it a community center, according to the Seattle Times.
Marchers have said they will camp out until their demands to defund the Seattle police are met, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
WARNING: The following tweet contains vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.
Seattle @MayorJenny is allowing a dangerous situation to fester. #Antifa militants have taken over & created an “autonomous zone” in city w/their own rules. Police precinct abandoned. Antifa set up barricades to create a border. Calling for volunteers to provide armed guard. pic.twitter.com/ksQI4NI5kP
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 9, 2020
City Council Member Kshama Sawant led what appeared to be hundreds of protesters into City Hall, which the protesters occupied Tuesday night for an hour or so before trooping back to the Autonomous Zone early Wednesday.
During the City Hall protest, marchers held signs reading “Durkan must go,” referring to demands that Mayor Jenny Durkan resign.
I just can’t believe my eyes this is the scene inside Seattle City Hall right now. pic.twitter.com/MhzzrECx6a
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) June 10, 2020
A message for Jenny Durkan, the demonstrators say. pic.twitter.com/KIoE3n1RqS
— Evan Bush (@evanbush) June 10, 2020
Today’s message was heard loud and clear. @cmkshama pic.twitter.com/FddZrBG21J
— Daniel Woods (@Dan_soy23) June 10, 2020
Sawant called for radical change in the city, including levying taxes on online retail giant Amazon, whose world headquarters is in Seattle.
“When you talk about black rights, you can’t leave out the horrific gentrification in Seattle,” she said. “Taxing Amazon is absolutely a part of black rights. … It’s about actually putting dollars on the table to address inequities affecting the Black community.”
Sawant said the lack of any social distancing in the City Hall protest was a risk, but added, “The rebellion is still happening. That shows you the complete failure of capitalism as a system.”
Seattle councilmember Sawant calls her council colleagues “sellouts” and “corporate politicians” as thousands of protestors take over city hall. (?️?@GoldsteinStreet) #seattleprotest #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/ZiDgrg9Lif
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) June 10, 2020
Earlier, Sawant paraphrased slain civil rights leader Malcolm X in calling for a fundamental overhaul of society.
“You can’t have capitalism without racism,” she said during a rally before marchers occupied City Hall. “We need a fundamentally different society if we aim to see a society free of police. That’s why I’m a socialist.”
The City Hall occupation included speeches to air grievances. Speaker Sarah Tornai said the Black Lives Matter movement needs to be led by minority LGBTQ women.
“This movement cannot become a movement that is led by male voices,” Tornai said. “LGBTQ women of color right now need for male voices to listen.”
“We are up against the city of Seattle, but this is a national, global movement,” she said.
On Tuesday, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Black Lives Matter activists said the rights of protesters were violated when Seattle police used what the suit said was “unnecessary violence” at the protests in controlling and suppressing crowds.
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