Seattle protest zone: residents and businesses sue the city


The plaintiffs “support the protesters’ right to raise issues such as systemic racism and police brutality,” but the occupation has caused financial difficulties and disrupted daily life, said Calfo Eakes LLP, the law firm representing the group, it’s a statement.

Four shootings in the area have erupted since Saturday, leaving one person dead.
Seattle 'autonomous zone' leader says many protesters are leaving

“For more than two weeks, and with the full knowledge and involvement of the City, our clients ‘neighborhood and properties have been blocked, barricaded, occupied, and destroyed,” the attorneys’ statement says.

Thousands of protesters have flocked to the six-block portion of the Capitol Hill area since June 8 to demand police reform and the underfunding of the Seattle Police Department. The rally is part of a nationwide response to the death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“Many people have already” left the area also known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, a de facto leader of the protest zone said Wednesday, two days after Mayor Jenny Durkan said, “It’s time for people to go home. ”

The area is deserted due to recent violence, except for some reservations, a CNN team reported. Seattle police left the East Precinct there on June 8.

The plaintiffs, which include retail and other businesses, say they have had to deal with constant harassment, loss of income, property damage, and the inability to enter or leave their homes and businesses safely.

“Our clients’ lawsuit seeks to end the City’s unprecedented decision to allow and support a private occupation of an entire neighborhood and to leave it unchecked by police,” according to the statement.

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