10 More Arrested Near Former CHOP Zone in Seattle

Fox News has the story:

Seattle police clashed with protesters after being attacked with rocks, bottles and fireworks overnight Thursday in the now-cleared Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone.

Police said 10 people were arrested after violence erupted at the intersection of Broadway and Pine Street.

Helmeted police with bats and rifles forcibly cleared the so-called autonomous zone Wednesday after the mayor ordered the response following two recent fatal shootings.

“Officers reporting bottles, rocks, and fireworks being thrown at them in the intersection of Broadway and Pine Street. Arrests being made at this time,” police tweeted.

Another tweet said commanders were issuing an order to the crowd to disperse.

Three people were arrested outside the West Precinct for property destruction, police said. The West Precinct is two miles away from the CHOP zone.

The other seven arrests took place at Broadway and Pine, starting at around 1 a.m., police said. They were being charged with assault, harassment, and failure to disperse.

The Seattle Times has more:

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an executive order Tuesday night declaring that gathering in the area in and around Cal Anderson Park was unlawful assembly requiring immediate action from city agencies. City officials then moved into the area and cleared it out starting around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Since that time, protesters and police have clashed several times in Seattle. From Wednesday to early Thursday, 69 people were arrested, according to police.

Jail records showed that 19 people were booked into the King County Jail between midnight and 7:30 a.m. Friday, but it was not immediately clear which of those were arrested at the West Precinct or at Broadway and Pine.

In its Friday statement, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said it has not charged nonviolent protesters, “and we have no plans to do so. Our position hasn’t changed since the first protest in response to the murder of George Floyd.”

None of the CHOP-clearing arrests have led to criminal charges from the prosecutor’s office, the statement said. The office says it has charged 10 Seattle and Bellevue protest-related cases since May: six involving a gun charge, one a hate crime investigation and three burglary cases. During the time CHOP was active, charges were filed in three cases: a burglary case, a burglary and assault case, and a reckless burning case, according to the statement.

The statement underscored the prosecuting attorney office’s “power to evaluate policies, laws and practices for racial equity. We have the power to change those things that perpetuate institutional racism. We will continue to listen to the experience of those who feel the sting of racism every day, work for the reform of the criminal justice system, and always view our goals through this lens of racial equity.”

As police continue to clear the area, it is clear that the city still has plenty of work to do before it gets back to normalcy.