Back شاز Arabic Аўтаномная зона Капіталійскага ўзгорка BE Zona Autònoma de Capitol Hill Catalan Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone German Αυτόνομη ζώνη του Κάπιτολ Χιλ Greek Zona Autónoma de Capitol Hill Spanish منطقه خودمختار سیاتل FA Capitol Hillin autonominen vyöhyke Finnish Zone autonome de Capitol Hill French Zona Otonom Capitol Hill ID

Capitol Hill Occupied Protest

"CHAZ" redirects here. For other uses, see Chaz.

Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
CHOP on June 9, 2020
CHOP on June 9, 2020
Nickname: 
CHOP or CHAZ
Capitol Hill is located in Seattle WA Downtown
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill
The zone's location, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood
Coordinates: 47°36′58″N 122°19′08″W / 47.616°N 122.319°W / 47.616; -122.319
DesignationSelf-declared autonomous zone[1]
EstablishedJune 8, 2020 (2020-06-08)[2]
DisbandedJuly 1, 2020 (2020-07-01)[3]
Government
 • TypeConsensus decision-making, with daily meeting of protesters[4][5]
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The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) or Capitol Hill Organized Protest[6][7][8][9] (CHOP),[10][11] originally Free Capitol Hill[12][13] and occasionally the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP),[14] was an unlawful occupation protest and self-declared autonomous zone[1] in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The zone, originally covering two intersections at the corners of Cal Anderson Park and the roads leading up to them,[15] was established on June 8, 2020 by people protesting the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] The zone was cleared of occupants by police on July 1, 2020.[3][16]

The formation of the zone was preceded by tense interactions between protesters and police in riot gear which began on June 1, 2020. The situation escalated on June 7 after a man drove his vehicle toward a crowd near 11th Avenue and Pine Street and shot a protester who tried to stop him.[17][18] Tear gas, flashbangs and pepper spray were used by police in the densely populated residential neighborhood.[19] On June 7, the SPD reported that protesters were throwing rocks, bottles, and fireworks, and were shining green lasers into officers' eyes.[17] The next day, the SPD vacated and boarded up its East Precinct building in an effort to de-escalate the situation.[20] After the SPD had vacated the East Precinct station, protesters moved into the Capitol Hill area. They repositioned street barricades in a one-block radius around the station and declared the area "Free Capitol Hill". The protest area was later renamed the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP).

The zone was a self-organized space without official leadership.[21] Police were not welcome within the zone. Protesters demanded that Seattle's police budget be decreased by 50%, that funding be shifted to community programs and services in historically black communities, and that CHOP protesters not be charged with crimes.[21][22][23] Participants created a block-long "Black Lives Matter" mural,[24] provided free film screenings in the street,[25] and performed live music.[26] A "No Cop Co-op" was formed, with food, hand sanitizer and other supplies. Areas were set up for public speakers and to facilitate discourse, and a community vegetable garden was constructed.[27]

The CHOP was a focus of national attention during its existence. On June 11, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan stated that the zone had a "block party" atmosphere;[28] later, The New York Times contrasted Durkan's words with local businesspeople's accounts of harassment, vandalism, and looting.[29] The CHOP's size decreased following shootings in or near the zone on June 20, 21, and 23. On June 28, Durkan met with protesters and informed them that the city planned to remove most barricades and limit the area of the zone. In the early morning of June 29, a fourth shooting left a 16-year-old boy dead and a 14-year-old boy in critical condition. Calling the situation "dangerous and unacceptable", police chief Carmen Best told reporters: "Enough is enough. We need to be able to get back into the area." On July 1, after Durkan issued an executive order, Seattle police cleared the area of protesters and reclaimed the East Precinct station. Protests continued in Seattle and at the CHOP site over the following days and months.

  1. ^ a b Nadeau, Barbie Latza (June 20, 2020). "Seattle Police Investigate Shooting Inside CHAZ". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Sun, Deedee (June 9, 2020). "Armed protesters protect East Precinct police building after officers leave area". KIRO. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ConsensusLeaders was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPost-Trump was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Weill, Kelly (June 16, 2020). "The Far Right Is Stirring Up Violence at Seattle's Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  7. ^ Burns, Katelyn (June 16, 2020). "Seattle's newly police-free neighborhood, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference KING5Shooting was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Savransky, Becca (June 15, 2020). "How CHAZ became CHOP: Seattle's police-free zone explained". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020. Known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) at first, but as larger political organizations tried to take credit and control over the area, it was rebranded in order to seem less radical. CHOP, the new acronym, now stands for the Capitol Hill Organized (or Occupied) Protest.
  10. ^ Simon, Dan; Reeve, Elle; Silverman, Hollie (June 15, 2020). "Protesters have occupied part of Seattle's Capitol Hill for a week. Here's what it's like inside". CNN. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Seattle-area protests: Live updates on Saturday, June 13". The Seattle Times. June 13, 2020. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stranger2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stranger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Silva, Daniella; Moschella, Matteo (June 11, 2020). "Seattle protesters set up 'autonomous zone' after police evacuate precinct". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (June 10, 2020). "'You're Now Leaving the USA': Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone Declared in Seattle". Heavy. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "Seattle Police clearing CHOP area after Durkan issues executive order". KOMO. July 1, 2020. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Gardner, James Ross (June 9, 2020). "A Seattle Activist's Fight to Keep the Focus on Police Abuse". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  18. ^ Moreno, Joel (June 9, 2020). "Driver claiming self-defense in Capitol Hill protest shooting has ties to police". KOMO. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  19. ^ Hu, Jane C. (June 16, 2020). "What's Really Going On at Seattle's So-Called Autonomous Zone?". Slate. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020. On June 1, protesters began demonstrating at SPD's Capitol Hill precinct building nightly, and most nights, police used flash-bangs and chemical irritants like pepper spray and tear gas to disperse the crowd around the barriers it erected in the blocks surrounding the precinct— including June 7, just two days after Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a 30-day moratorium on tear gas. Activists turned police's barriers around and declared that the surrounding area—roughly 5½ city blocks, which includes a public park—would be for the people."
  20. ^ Jimenez, Esmy; Raftery, Isolde (June 8, 2020). "'They gave us East Precinct.' Seattle Police backs away from the barricade". KUOW. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Gupta, Arun (July 2, 2020). "Seattle's CHOP Went Out With Both a Bang and a Whimper". The Intercept. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  22. ^ Frohne, Lauren; Chin, Corinne; Dompor, Ramon (July 4, 2020). "'The Uprising': Watch how Seattle's protests have evolved". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference :27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Cut overview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference :28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uneasy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ McBride, Jessica (June 12, 2020). "Seattle Autonomous Zone Videos: What It's Like Inside the CHAZ". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  29. ^ Bowles, Nellie (August 7, 2020). "Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren't So Sure". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020.