LAWLESSNESS IN SEATTLE AS MAYOR CALLS INSURRECTION A PATRIOTIC BLOCK PARTY

Seattle police union chief says his city is 'closest I've ever seen' to being a 'lawless state'

 

By Julia Musto

 

Fox News

June 12, 2020

 

Seattle Police Officers Guild President Michael Solan told "Outnumbered Overtime" Friday that the city is now the "closest I've ever seen ...  to becoming a lawless state."

Solan called for local leaders to help restore order after anti-cop protesters declared a six-block section of the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood to be an "autonomous" area and a "cop-free zone."

 

Solan told host Harris Faulkner that legitimate issues of police brutality and racism had been "stolen by unreasonable activists in the city of Seattle.

"And now, they control six square blocks," he added. "They control the precinct. And that is a direct result of our city-elected officials lacking the political willpower to enforce the rule of law."

"And, this is the closest I've ever seen our country, let alone the city here, to becoming a lawless state when public safety issues are deeply, deeply concerning," Solan went on.

"And, if…unreachable activists have taken over an East Precinct voluntarily given up by an elected officials’ decisions, what’s to stop them from taking another precinct?" he asked. "And...West Precinct -- where 300 protesters marched on it two nights ago, where officers were ordered back inside, outside the perimeter -- If we lose that flagship precinct, that houses the 911 communications center. Therefore, if that becomes disabled, how do we provide public safety services to the entire city?"

"This is how serious this conversation is," he asserted.

Seattle's Democratic mayor, however, had a different take on the demonstration. On Thursday, Jenny Durkan told CNN that the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) was more akin to a patriotic "block party."

In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Harris Faulkner earlier Thursday, President Trump described Durkan's handling of the situation as "pathetic," and assured that his administration is "not going to let Seattle be occupied by anarchists."

"I will tell you, if they don't straighten that situation out, we're going to straighten it out," he promised.

"We need leadership from somebody. Because it's not occurring in the city right now," Solan urged.

"The overall Seattle community, the reasonable people, fully support reasonable activism. Not this unreasonable activism that, sadly, has taken our city hostage," he told Faulkner.

'We need rule of law here. And, as a Seattle resident, I am so embarrassed," he added. "And, as a proud professional public safety officer, we are more than willing to be brought to the table as a stakeholder. But, we have yet to be invited, and our open letter to the mayor has yet to [be] publicly acknowledged."

"We need some serious help in Seattle," Solan concluded.
__________

Crackdown on autonomous zones: Tennessee governor says he won't tolerate protester camp in Nashville as North Carolina cops tear down barricades - but Seattle police union says city is near 'lawlessness' after five days of the 'CHAZ' 

 

Daily Mail 

June 13, 2020

 

Demonstrators in Nashville, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina have attempted to emulate protesters in Seattle by establishing police-free 'autonomous zones' protected by barricades, as police union officials in Seattle warn that their city is on the verge of 'lawlessness'.

The efforts in Tennessee and North Carolina were met with a strong response from local authorities, in contrast to Seattle where demonstrators in the 'CHAZ' have taken control of a police precinct and remain manning the barricades armed after five days.

In Asheville, activists say that about 100 people gathered Friday night on Lexington Avenue under the Interstate 280 overpass, where they attempted to block the street with barricades and take control of the area.

Police responded in force and tore down the barricades, video from the scene shows. Demonstrators issued a cry for reinforcements on social media and vowed to return on Saturday.

'People are needed now! Please share this if you can't be here. Supplies also needed,' one organizer posted on Twitter. 

In Nashville, a group of protesters converged on the Legislative Plaza on Friday, announcing plans to seize the area in front of the Tennessee statehouse as an 'autonomous zone.'

The demonstrators declared that the plaza would be re-named Ida B. Wells Plaza, after the early civil rights leader. Video from the scene showed the demonstrators chanting and singing on the plaza late into the night, apparently left to their own devices by law enforcement.

However, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, warned protesters in his state against trying to seize territory.

'Lawlessness, autonomous zones, and violence will not be tolerated,' Lee said in a statement. 'Further, Tennessee law expressly prohibits camping on state property not expressly designated as a campground area, and that law will be enforced.'

 

The 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,' or CHAZ, in Seattle continued to thrive on Friday, after demonstrators seized control of a police precinct and the surrounding blocks.