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Lawless in Seattle
Sleepless in Seattle has morphed into Lawless in Seattle. From the City Journal:
Seattle’s hard-Left secessionist movement has claimed its first territory: six blocks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Then, in a stunning turn of events, the City of Seattle made the decision to abandon the East Precinct and surrender the neighborhood to the protesters. “This is an exercise in trust and de-escalation,” explained Chief Carmen Best. Officers and National Guardsmen emptied out the facility, boarded it up, and retreated. Immediately afterward, Black Lives Matter protesters, Antifa black shirts, and armed members of the hard-Left John Brown Gun Club seized control of the neighborhood, moved the barricades into a defensive position, and declared it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone—even putting up a cardboard sign at the barricades declaring “you are now leaving the USA.”
An exercise in trust and de-escalation did not work too well. There may be some police officers that should be removed from police work, and Chief Carmen Best should be one of them. Seattle now has their very own Warlord running the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.
On the new rebel state’s first night, the atmosphere was festive and triumphant. Hooded men spray-painted the police station with slogans and anarchist symbols, renaming it the “Seattle People’s Department East Precinct.” Raz Simone, a local rapper with an AK-47 slung from his shoulder and a pistol attached to his hip, screamed, “This is war!” into a white-and-red megaphone and instructed armed paramilitaries to guard the barricades in shifts. Later in the night, Simone was filmed allegedly assaulting multiple protestors who disobeyed his orders, informing them that he was the “police” now, sparking fears that he was becoming the de facto warlord of the autonomous zone. A homeless man with a baseball bat wandered along the borderline and two unofficial medics in medieval-style chain mail stood ready for action.
Businesses in Capitol Hill are being strong-armed for a $500 fee, payable in cash or Bitcoin to support the revolution. One business owner is hoping that it’s a one-time charge.
A second coup was attempted at city hall.
Politically, the Seattle City Council has already begun to champion the protesters’ demands. Socialist Alternative councilwoman Kshama Sawant declared the takeover a “victory” against “the militarized police force of the political establishment and the capitalist state.” Three councilmembers have signaled support for a 50 percent reduction in the police budget, with additional councilmembers likely to support a similar policy in the coming weeks. Sawant also opened Seattle’s City Hall—which had been closed by the mayor—to protesters, who immediately occupied the building.
Left unsaid was that Kshama Sawant unlocked city hall that was closed due to Covid-19 to allow protestors to occupy it and demand the Mayor resign. Not that I have any empathy for the Mayor. She is a socialist as well, but she was elected by the voters of Seattle, as dim as they might be.
I don’t expect Governor Inslee to be much help in this situation. He and Senator Patty Murray are competing, and in a dead heat for the title of, Dumbest Person in the State of Washington.
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They’ve got a lot of competition for that dubious honor.
I hope we don’t get the refugees. We have enough problems with Detorit, Grand Rapids, etc. all ready. In good times.
I’m of two minds. One is that Trump could let it play out, for months. Or he could starve the insurgents out. But that might be difficult with a small population sympathetic to the insurgents, and hostile to the police. And it would play poorly every day in the Press.
Or two, he could take the six blocks in a day, with casualties on both sides, restore order and — return Capitol Hill to whom? To the mayor? To the governor? It would start all over again. He’d have to become an occupying force. And the Press and probably the Secretary of Defense and all the retired generals would call for his ouster.
What other alternatives are there, besides capitulation?
I would lean more to the first. But I’m usually in the camp of allowing these progressive absurdities to play out so the rest of the country can observe. That’s admittedly not very kind to the innocents in Seattle who are affected, though.
2nd Ranger Battalion is right down the road.
Do a leaflet drop that says, when the assault comes, get flat on the ground, in the open, empty hands visible. Do the leaflet drop ever day, for 7-9 days, while having ISR on them the whole time, then have the Rangers hit them at 0300.
There might be a Ranger casualty; a Ranger might twist an ankle on the way in.
They should drop Help Wanted, and Employment Applications leaflets. The streets will be deserted within a few hours.
Love it Doug.
Seriously,
This is open revolt. They should be met with military force.
Time to send in professionals, since the local police clearly are not.
According to the Washington Times, the latest demand from the Seattle separatists is black doctors for black patients. What’s next? Separate water coolers?
I’m inclined to disagree. I’m inclined to let these blue-state idiots sleep in the bed that they made. Let’s see how they like it.
My response to all the Defund Police loons has been to say that nature abhors a vacuum and there will always be a force to create order. If not a police force hired and supplied by elected leaders, then a warlord or strongman. True chaos is not sustainable.
They’ve seceded from the US and claim US law no longer applies.
OK. So no penalty for any Patriots that decide to end the farce.
Why make martyrs out of them? Better to leave them alone and let them demonstrate the benefits of their new system.
I’m a bit impressed by the sheer and ludicrous brazeness of these people.
It never would have occurred to me to barricade my neighborhood and declare it a new country and be taken seriously…
Its astounding.
My brother, his wife, and their children up there may be in the running too. I very rarely interact with any of them, because I already know how they (don’t) think. And I’m certainly not going to ask them what they (don’t) think of this stuff, because I really hate to vomit.
Yes, cutting off water and power etc would bring this “revolt” to a pretty quick end.
But does anyone think the mayor and/or city council to do that?
The mayor and/or city council of SEATTLE?
Of course not.
Indeed, I would expect them to add fees/surcharges/whatever to the rest of Seattle, to support the “freemen” who will pay nothing.
There are US citizens and legal residents living in that area or owning businesses in the area. They are being extorted by the occupiers.
The mayor and governor are doing nothing to help these people:
My questions:
Very likely. But it might still be best to just let it burn itself out. Anything else would be “Hitler.”
I sure won’t consider them martyrs. At some point we have to fight back.
And that is how you get Hitler. By ignoring citizens’ rights because it is inconvenient.
Which is what the mayors and governors are doing. But it’s a system of federalism. By design, and by law, etc, the cities and the states are the ones responsible for that on the local level. Even if Trump sent in the troops, I doubt the people being “Saved” would thank him for it, or that they would change their voting habits afterward.
And the federal government is responsible for seeing the cities and states live up to those responsibilities. I suppose you think Eisenhower should not have sent in the 82nd Airborne to integrate Little Rock schools when the city and state failed to live up to its responsibilities to all its citizens.
I understand that 500 people live within that zone. What about them? Should we leave them to the terrorists? Do a Fall of Saigon-style evacuation?
It was a different time in many ways, and Eisenhower didn’t have people even in the “mainstream media” calling him Hitler or calling for his impeachment – or assassination – before he even took office.
And, of course, I expect that most of the people being “liberated” in Seattle would be white.
And, of course, they wouldn’t open want it, or ask for it… maybe if President Biden did it… and would President Biden do it even if asked?
Are you sure those 500 people WANT to leave? They probably can, if they want to. But my guess is they probably don’t WANT to. At least, not until they get hungry. Like little kids running away from home.
Playing by their rules, I guess is respectful.
Want to leave their homes and become refugees? Would u?
Let’s see … since they are no longer part of the United States, there will be tariffs on incoming goods. Do they have most-favored nation status? They don’t? Oh, dear. This could get expensive.
Their property would be filled with squatters in a minute.