Seattle police officers were effectively forced to abandon the city’s East Precinct after protesters overtook the six blocks surrounding it. The area has now become an “autonomous zone,” known as the CHAZ, and protesters are refusing to abandon it until government officials meet a list of their demands.
The demands include the total abolition of law enforcement and youth prisons and dropped criminal charges against all protesters, some of whom have been violent rioters. Meanwhile, Seattle officers are reporting complaints that they’ve received from residents within the CHAZ who are being forced to show ID or leave their homes. And businesses are allegedly being extorted by protesters demanding that they join the cause or get out.
It’s difficult to determine how much of this is true. Protesters have pushed back on the police reports, arguing that all demonstrations have been peaceful. But the fact is: You can’t commandeer an entire section of the city without forcing your way into it and forcing others out of it.
What we do know is that Washington officials have completely lost control of the CHAZ, and they won’t get it back without exerting force. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has tried to negotiate with these protesters without success, and the protesters haven’t shown signs of budging. Peaceful or not, this is anarchy. And the only reason Seattle protesters have gotten away with it is that law enforcement hasn’t been able to challenge them.
This is what happens when you remove policing from the picture. If we do not have a way to enforce our laws, then any number of citizens could do what these protesters are doing and create their own autonomous zones, make up its rules, and force other citizens to obey them. Last I checked, we considered such behavior unacceptable.
And it is, which is why Democrats and other activists should think twice before supporting “defund the police,” a movement that would ultimately like to see law enforcement abolished or at least crippled. If this movement has its way, the lawlessness will not stay in Seattle. It will spread, and it will lead to violence.
President Trump has warned Durkan and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee that if they do not restore order, he will. And so began the political back-and-forth, with Inslee rebuking Trump and Durkan telling him to “go back to [his] bunker.” Meanwhile, the majority of people are looking at Seattle and wondering if there’s still an adult in the room.
There are, in fact, multiple adults in the room, but Durkan has effectively forced them out. She needs to let the Seattle Police Department do its job and restore order or else lose part of her city to protesters who have no interest in playing by her rules.
