A Record Of the CHOP Zone

Firsthand footage, articles and anecdotes from and about the no-cop zone in Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA. Many posts are dated for reference.

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Riot gear and heavy machinery, tearing down barriers and arresting protestors: police have taken back the zone.

I find it incredibly suspicious that this comes on the back of those five shootings when we don’t know who the shooters were and it was just as likely to be attacks from outside the zone as violence from people inside.

I also want to point out that this article also reports on how the zone started and does so inaccurately, so I don’t 100% trust it’s reporting on how it ended.

But as of 01.07.20, the no-cop zone has been occupied by the police once again.

Police Clear Seattle’s Protest ‘Autonomous Zone’

The so-called Capitol Hill Organized Protest area was taken over by protesters after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It was the si

[capitol-hill-occupancy-protest]

Up to five shootings now. It’s devestating that the demonstrators now have to make the choice whether to stay or leave for their safety. My heart is still with them

Another shooting in Seattle's police-free autonomous zone kills man and critically injures boy

A shooting in Seattle's Capitol Hill Occupation Protest (CHOP) area Monday morning left one man dead and a 14-year-old boy critically injure

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Shooting in Seattle protest zone leaves one dead. Police say crowd denied them entry

Seattle police say a "violent crowd" prevented them reaching two shooting victims -- one whom later died -- inside the city's autonomous pro

There was a shooting the the zone

Two people were shot, one is dead, one is wounded

The zone medics took both victims to the hospital

Police were trying to reach two victims who had already been taken to hospital

The crowd in the police-free zone turned away the police

I’m posting this ~7:30pm 20/6/20. The shooting seems to have occurred at about 3am 20/6/20.

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Reported second shooting

Another Shooting at Seattle's Protest ‘Autonomous Zone’

A person was injured on Sunday in the area of the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” established by protesters against police violence, the seco

[capitol-hill-occupancy-protest]

Shooting in Seattle protest zone leaves one dead. Police say crowd denied them entry

Seattle police say a "violent crowd" prevented them reaching two shooting victims -- one whom later died -- inside the city's autonomous pro

There was a shooting the the zone

Two people were shot, one is dead, one is wounded

The zone medics took both victims to the hospital

Police were trying to reach two victims who had already been taken to hospital

The crowd in the police-free zone turned away the police

I’m posting this ~7:30pm 20/6/20. The ahooting seems to have occurred at about 3am 20/6/20.

[capitol-hill-occupancy-protest]

Some info in this post

351 votes and 721 comments so far on Reddit

[capitol-hill-occupancy-protest]

Shooting in Seattle protest zone leaves one dead. Police say crowd denied them entry

Seattle police say a "violent crowd" prevented them reaching two shooting victims -- one whom later died -- inside the city's autonomous pro

There was a shooting the the zone

Two people were shot, one is dead, one is wounded

The zone medics took both victims to the hospital

Police were trying to reach two victims who had already been taken to hospital

The crowd in the police-free zone turned away the police

I’m posting this ~7:30pm 20/6/20. The shooting seems to have occurred at about 3am 20/6/20.

[capitol-hill-occupancy-protest]

News from the zone is slowing down

The most recent articles aren’t saying anything new. I look at the recent tags on Tumblr and only see my posts. There’s nothing new on Reddit or Twitter. Even Snap Maps footage is being posted less regularly.

The city of Seattle cut the zone in two. The way I understand it one lane of the two lane street has been opened and the other lane has been left for pedestrians/protestors.

I don’t like it. It feels like they’re saying ‘you can have the street, but you can’t have your demands’. Civil disobedience isn’t civil disobedience if the local council sanctions it. But really my opinion doesn’t matter, and I’m not on the ground in the zone.

I’m going to stop posting updates that the zone is still active, because it doesn’t look so fragile anymore, but I will post updates on things that change. All my love to the people of the zone.

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Fans of cranes will be excited to hear there was a crane in the zone today (17/6/20)!

This new installation looks great!

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Wednesday (17/6/20) Evening in the zone. The City of Seattle put plywood on their concrete barriers for artists and the artists of the zone have wasted no time! People are still gathering peacefully.

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Bit of a map as of the 16th June.

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Ok so some more news(?) from the 16/6/20.

I’ve been looking for more info to try and make sense of this footage and so far not come up with anything (I even checked Twitter again).

What it LOOKS like is that something in the zone, maybe the no cop coop, is being shut down by a health inspector.

The perspectives on this seem to be

This community is looking out for itself and the Health Inspector shouldn’t stop people from getting fed

They’re going to try and bring the coop up to the standards needed to keep it open

If you’re in the zone or you have more information please reblog! I will update on this when I can

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It’s Tuesday (16/6/20) in the Zone and I think what we’re seeing here is the Department of Transport following through with their earlier plans to replace some of the barriers with planter boxes to give it a more permanent feel.

I know this was initially met with backlash from the protestors and I can see how it would seem like it was undermining the protest.

Reminder that the barriers were up in the first place to protect pedestrians from cars driving into them, a tactic that has been used by police and counter protestors (and in fact was used in Capitol Hill last week before the barriers were put up).

I’ll update on the planter box situation as I get more info but (btw) the CHOP zone has made it another day!

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The zone is undergoing some updates. This feels like a compromise between the city and the protestors and I’m not sure how I feel about it, if you’ve read the article please reblog with your opinion ❤️

Seattle City staff help protesters replace entrance tents | News

On Tuesday, the City of Seattle put up concrete barriers in the CHOP "to allow for public safety and better access for the local community."

[capitol-hill-occupancy-protest]

It’s Tuesday (16/6/20) in the Zone and I think what we’re seeing here is the Department of Transport following through with their earlier plans to replace some of the barriers with planter boxes to give it a more permanent feel.

I know this was initially met with backlash from the protestors and I can see how it would seem like it was undermining the protest.

Reminder that the barriers were up in the first place to protect pedestrians from cars driving into them, a tactic that has been used by police and counter protestors (and in fact was used in Capitol Hill last week before the barriers were put up).

I’ll update on the planter box situation as I get more info but (btw) the CHOP zone has made it another day!

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It’s a pretty nice evening (15/6/20) in the zone

Although it might be raining overnight so hope everyone’s keeping dry and comfortable.

The longer the zone exists the less new info there is and the more conversation is just people’s opinions and damn. Some people Sure Have Opinions. After saturating myself with as much first hand footage/info of the demonstration that I can find most of it comes across as so ignorant but I guess not everyone can hyperfixate on a protest happening on the other side of the world to them and start an update blog about it so they’re forgiven.

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It’s about 7:30pm (15/6/20) in the zone and I’ve just checked snap maps (bc I’ve just woken up down here in Aus) as of six minutes ago everything’s fine!

[skygenders]

“A masterpiece was created in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone today” video by Kyle Kotajarvi

[skygenders]

[smitethestate]

This wasn’t a government stunt to try and avoid doing something meaningful, but a coming together of community artists who did it for free. Which is why it’s the best.

[swordshapedleaves]

And it’s not even finished in that shot!

It really is stunning art. I hope they keep this block closed to vehicles for a long time.

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

I love how the right wing is all “It’s Anarchy! It’s terrorism! They’re burning everything down! They must be stopped! Send in the military!”

Meanwhile the moment people are allowed to do what they want, the first things they do are…

Make art and plant a garden.

[ID: 1) An overhead video of Black Lives Matter painted down the middle of a public street in Seattle in large letters. Every letter is a separate brightly colored piece of colored art. 2) A Tweet by James Saint-Franc @sirjamesa12 “Every single letter was designed by black artists from the Seattle area.” 3) A still shot of the same street art completed. It is even more brightly colored.]

[vicks-vaporwave]

[afronerdism]

Here’s the one they did in my city. All done by black artists

[anachronic-cobra]

These photos better show up in textbooks one day

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BLM murals and the artists from the zone!

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It’s midnight in Seattle (15/6/20).

While updating this account I’ve been checking Snap Maps, Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit and searching new articles to find the most recent info.

Twitter and Reddit aren’t platforms I actively use but they’ve got lots of info on the demonstration, however I’ve decided to give up on checking Twitter because it’s mostly opinions and misinformation.

Apart from that I’m still keeping my ear to the ground!

[toinfinityandslightlytotheright]

Hey! Idk how many people will see this but it’s wildly important that you know what’s happening in Seattle and how you can help!

So if you’ve been paying attention, you’d know about six blocks in capital hill have succeeded from the US (not legally, but they don’t call it the us) this area is called CHAZ. I went there today and honestly? It felt like a utopia. There was free food, clothes, tent space, water, masks, hand sanitizer, literally ANYTHING. It felt... so pure. Businesses nearby had opened up their bathrooms, many places were making food and selling it.

Why is this place so safe?

There are no cops.

Anywhere.

Only good people. Laughing. Being together. Providing support. Helping other people.

Seattle is not in the middle of a war. We are not suffering. We are TIRED. WE ARE FREE. THIS can be the future. This is what I’m fighting for, what everyone is fighting for. These six blocks in my home city could be the start of a fucking revolution. I want it to be. Why? Because if the rest of the world was as kind, as supportive, and inclusive, as happy as CHAZ? The world would be a much better place.

For everyone.

If you’re in the Seattle area and want to help, here’s a list of what is needed most in Chaz:

Please consider donating these items. If you need more information you can contact me on tumblr or on my Instagram: @\devilcat666 (no slash tho) thank you all. Stay safe, stay healthy. Black lives matter.