Businesses and local residents expressed their relief on Wednesday after Seattle police cleared a “busy” protest area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or CHOP, while protesters promised they will continue to pressure leaders of the city to meet their demands.
Police cleared the area early Wednesday morning and made more than a dozen arrests after Mayor Jenny Durkan stated that she had met illegally after two shootings.
Police and city workers fill a street occupied hours earlier by a protester camp on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 in Seattle, where streets had been blocked in an area that protesters had occupied for weeks.
(AP)
The clearing seemed to conclude a cataclysmic saga that began when protests occupied several blocks around a park for about two weeks after police left a station on the compound after clashes and clashes that were part of the nationwide riots over the death. of George Floyd for police custody in Minneapolis.
Many business owners said they were relieved that CHOP had been authorized, but felt that city leaders were too slow to respond.
Bill Donner, president of the printing firm Rightmark Label, had to deal with CHOP right outside his front door. He told KOMO News that he was glad that the police cleared the area, but felt that city leaders were too slow to respond.
“It was a good time (for the police) to get in. A few weeks too late, but a good time to get in,” Donner said. “The mayor has not monitored the safety of anyone we know in weeks.”
Faizel Khan, owner of Cafe Argento, was one of about a dozen business owners who sued the city for not taking action sooner.
“We looked for answers from the mayor and the city council and we got nothing,” said Khan.
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A resident who lives one block from the CHOP zone said she agreed with the protesters’ demands, but also felt there was a lack of leadership by city officials.
“What I heard the most from (Mayor Jenny Durkan) is that she was upset that people came to protest her house (and that was not) the best appearance,” the resident told KOMO News. “It is something that I think people will remember when they vote in the future.”
Meanwhile, protesters and organizers in the occupied zone promised to follow through on their demands, which included, among other things, paying the police 50 percent.
Seattle Black Collective Voice, made up of people in the protest zone, previously said that their work would continue even if they were forced to leave that area. On Wednesday afternoon, the group said via Twitter: “We are not done with CHOP.”
More than three dozen people were arrested, accused of not dispersing, obstruction, assault, and illegal possession of weapons.
There were growing calls from critics, including President Donald Trump, to eliminate protesters. A group of local business owners sued the city, alleging that officials left the area and made it impossible to run businesses because there was no fire or police protection.
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United States Attorney General William Barr praised Police Chief Carmen Best for what he called “his courage and leadership in restoring the rule of law in Seattle.”
“Chief Best has rightly pledged to continue the substantive discussion as the violence ends, which threatens innocent people and undermines the principles of the rule of law that protesters profess to uphold,” he said in a statement.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and The Associated Press contributed to this report..
