Capitol Hill

Autonomous
Zone

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The Capitol Hill Autonomous

Zone[2] (CHAZ[2] or the Zone[3]),
also known as Free Capitol
Hill,[4][5] is a self-declared
intentional community and
commune covering
approximately ten city blocks in
the Capitol Hill neighborhood of
Seattle, Washington.[6] The
Zone was established on June
8, 2020 after the East Precinct
building was abandoned by the
Seattle Police Department.
 Capitol Hill Autonomous
Zone

Streetmap of area surrounding

Free Capitol Hill as of June 10,
2020[1]

A shrine set up by Black Lives

Matter around the corner from the
abandoned East Precinct building
Location Seattle,
 H
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Background

Capitol Hill is a district in

downtown Seattle known for its
prominent LGBT and
counterculture communities.
The district had previously been
a center for other mass
protests,[7] such as the 1999
Seattle WTO protests[8] and
Occupy Seattle.[9]

On May 29, 2020, protests

began in Seattle following the
murder of George Floyd.

Foundation

The Zone on June 9, 2020

After days of protests

commemorating George Floyd
and condemning police
brutality outside of the Seattle
Police Department's East
Precinct building,[2] Mayor
Jenny Durkan announced her
intent to "de-escalate
interactions" and limit police
presence in the Capitol Hill
neighborhood. Following a
"police retreat,"[4] citizens
erected street barricades and
declared the area the "Capitol
Hill Autonomous Zone."[4]

Territory
Interactive map of the Capitol
Hill Autonomous Zone

The Zone is centered around

the East Precinct building, a
police precinct which the police
abandoned on June 9.[5][10] It
stretches north to East Denny
Way, east to 13th Avenue, south
to East Pike, and west to
Broadway. The entirety of Cal
Anderson Park falls inside of
the Zone.[11]

Protesters concerned about the

potential for a vehicle attack[3]
used blockades and fences to
construct staggered barricades
at intersections.[5] The entrance
of the Zone's territory is marked
by a barrier reading "You Are
Entering Free Capitol Hill",[4] an
homage to Northern Ireland's
Free Derry.[12] Other signs
declared "You are now leaving
the USA."[13][14] The East
Precinct building has had the
word "people" spray painted
over the word "police".[10][15]

Internal governance
The Capitol Hill Autonomous
Zone has no centralized system
of governance. Occupants have
stated their intentions of
creating a neighborhood
beyond policing and a society
where the police are no longer
necessary.[16][17] Members of
the self-described anti-fascist,
anti-racist, pro-worker Puget
Sound John Brown Gun Club
were seen open-carrying rifles
in the Zone.[18] Reporters from
a local Seattle-based Fox News
affiliate were removed from the
Zone by occupants,[19] but there
have been no violent
confrontations between police
and residents.[5][15]

Demands

On June 9, 2020, a blog

appeared on Medium titled
"THE DEMANDS OF THE
COLLECTIVE BLACK VOICES
AT FREE CAPITOL HILL TO THE
GOVERNMENT OF SEATTLE,
WASHINGTON" requiring policy
changes necessary "for the
cultural and historic
advancement of the City of
Seattle". These included:
abolition of the Seattle
Police Department and the
court system
pending abolition, police
are barred from using
firearms, batons, riot
shields, or chemical agents
the federal government will
investigate allegations of
police brutality, and anyone
found to have suffered
police brutality shall
receive reparations
imprisonment will be
phased out, and anyone
arrested for marijuana
offenses or resisting arrest
must be released
immediately
funding previously used for
Seattle police is to be
redirected to socialized
medicine, public housing
and education, and
naturalization services for
undocumented immigrants
Seattle is to be de-
gentrified through rent
control, free college, and a
decentralized election
process
hospitals are to hire black
nurses and doctors to
specifically aid black
patients
mental health experts will
respond to 911 calls
educators will receive
mandatory anti-bias
training and implement a
greater focus on black and
Native American history
Confederate statues
throughout the state are to
be removed[20]
Culture and amenities

Snacks and supplies booth in the

Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone on June
9, 2020

Tents were pitched next to the

former precinct in order to hold
the space. The No Cop Co-op
was established on June 9,
offering free water, hand
sanitizer, snacks donated by
the community, and kebabs.
The intersection of 12th and
Pine was converted to a square
for teach-ins, where a
microphone was used to
encourage people who were
there "to fuck shit up" to go
home. An outdoor cinema with
a sound system and projector
was set up[21] and used to
screen open-air movies. The
first film shown was 13th, Ava
DuVernay's documentary about
race and mass incarceration.[21]
Portable toilets were provided
by the Seattle Department of
Transportation.[21] Peaceful
demonstrations have been
staged and organized, including
"an invasion" of the Seattle City
Hall, demanding the resignation
of Jenny Durkan.[22] City
services are still being provided
to the Zone, including fire and
trash removal, and the Seattle
Police Department has stated
that they will respond to 911
calls in the Zone.[19]

Many occupants of the Zone

have adopted a pink umbrella
as an unofficial emblem.[13]
Homemade riot shields crafted
by the protesters were
stenciled with pink
umbrellas.[11]

Reactions
Mayor Durkan has stated that
she will "de-escalate the
situation" within the Zone,[23][11]
while Seattle police chief
Carmen Best said that her
officers would look at different
approaches to "reduce [their]
footprint" in the Capitol Hill
neighborhood.[24] Seattle City
Council member Kshama
Sawant (a politician from the
Socialist Alternative) spoke to
the Zone occupants at Cal
Anderson Park on June 8,
2020.[11] She called for the
protesters to turn the precinct
into a community center for
restorative justice.[21]

On June 9, Senator Ted Cruz

from Texas stated that the
Zone was "endangering
people's lives".[25]

Some, such as The Stranger's

Charles Mudede, have
compared the Zone to
Manhattan's High Line, pointing
to it as a possible model by
which the Zone could be
institutionalized.[26]

Recognition

The Autonomous Zone has

received recognition from the
Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW) union and has been
praised by IWW's Industrial
Worker magazine.[16]

See also
 Freetown Christiania
Paris Commune
Counter-economics
Cascadia (independence
movement)
Temporary Autonomous Zone

References
1. Map data sourced from
@PartyPrat, as published
by James 2020.
Confirmation by
@basicflowrrr
2. Eustachewich, Lia (June
10, 2020). "Seattle
protesters march on city
hall to demand Mayor
Durkan's resignation" . New
York Post. Retrieved
June 10, 2020. "The
protesters left peacefully
around 10 p.m., with some
convening on Capitol Hill —
in an area dubbed “Capitol
Hill Autonomous Zone” or
CHAZ — outside the
Seattle Police
Department’s East
Precinct. A screen that was
set up played the movie
“13th,” the Seattle Times
 reported."
3. "Get In the Zone: A Report
from the Capitol Hill
Autonomous Zone in
Seattle" . It's Going Down.
June 9, 2020.
4. Burns, C., Keiming, J., and
Smith, R. (June 9, 2020).
"The Dawn of "Free Capitol
Hill" " . The Stranger.
Retrieved June 9, 2020.
5. Janavel, AJ (2020-06-09).
Protesters take over
streets outside
abandoned SPD East
 Precinct (News report
which aired 7:33am local
time). KCPQ (Q13).
6. Beekman, Daniel (9 June
2020). "Protesters and
ACLU sue Seattle, blame
mayor and police chief for
'unnecessary violence' at
demonstrations" . The
Seattle Times. Seattle.
Retrieved 9 June 2020.
7. Banel, Feliks (June 5,
2020). "Long history of
racial and economic
unrest in Seattle" .
 MyNorthwest. Retrieved
June 10, 2020.
8. "WTO 20: Return to the
battle for Capitol Hill" .
Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
December 1, 2019.
Retrieved June 9, 2020.
9. "Occupy Seattle protesters
clash with police on
Capitol Hill" . The Seattle
Times. November 2, 2011.
Retrieved June 10, 2020.
10. Sun, Deedee (2020-06-09).
"Armed protesters protect
East Precinct police
 building after officers
leave area" . KIRO.
Retrieved 2020-06-11.
11. " 'Welcome to Free Capitol
Hill' — Capitol Hill
Autonomous Zone forms
around emptied East
Precinct — UPDATE" .
Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
June 9, 2020. Retrieved
June 9, 2020.
12. Mac Cuarta, Anraoi
(November 1973). "Saor
Dhoire". Comhar. 32 (11):
4–9.
 doi:10.2307/20553451 .
JSTOR 20553451 .
13. Dwilson, Stephanie Dube
(June 10, 2020). " 'You're
Now Leaving the USA':
Capitol Hill Autonomous
Zone Declared in Seattle" .
Heavy.
14. Crabtree, Susan (June 10,
2020). "Is Unarmed
National Guard
Emboldening Seattle
Mob?" . RealClearPolitics.
15. Bowman, Nick
(2020-06-10). "A look
 inside Seattle's newly-
formed 'Capitol Hill
Autonomous Zone' " .
MyNorthwest. KIRO-AM.
Retrieved 2020-06-11.
16. James, J. F. (June 9, 2020).
"The Birth of the Capitol
Hill Autonomous Zone" .
Industrial Worker. Industrial
Workers of the World.
Archived from the original
on 2020-06-10. Retrieved
June 9, 2020.
17. Ruiz, Michael (June 9,
2020). "Seattle protesters
 declare 'cop free zone'
after police leave
precinct" . Fox News.
Retrieved June 10, 2020.
18. Thalen, Mikael (June 9,
2020). "Seattle protesters
set up a barricaded 'cop-
free zone' " . The Daily Dot.
Retrieved June 10, 2020.
19. Britschgi, Christian (June
10, 2020). "Seattle
Protesters Establish
'Autonomous Zone'
Outside Evacuated Police
Precinct — Is the Capitol
 Hill Autonomous Zone a
brave experiment in self-
government or just flash-
in-the-pan activism?" .
Reason. Retrieved June 10,
2020.
20. Thalen, Mikael (June 10,
2020). "Seattle's
'Autonomous Zone'
releases list of demands" .
The Daily Dot. Retrieved
June 10, 2020.
21. Burns, Chase (June 10,
2020). "The Capitol Hill
Autonomous Zone
 Renames, Expands, and
Adds Film Programming" .
The Stranger.
22. Rambaran, Vandana (10
June 2020). "Seattle
protesters storm City Hall,
demand mayor resign
after driving police out of
area, declaring
autonomous zone" . Fox
News. Retrieved 10 June
2020.
23. "Protesters Establish
Autonomous Zone Around
Seattle PD Building as
 Police Retreat" .
Democracy Now!. June 9,
2020. Retrieved June 9,
2020.
24. "Live updates: Protesters
establish 'Free Capitol Hill'
near East Precinct" .
MyNorthwest. KIRO-FM.
June 9, 2020. Retrieved
June 9, 2020.
25. Ted Cruz [@tedcruz] (June
9, 2020). "This is
endangering people's
lives. #ThisIsNuts"
(Tweet). Retrieved June 9,
 2020 – via Twitter.
26. Mudede, Charles
(2020-06-10). "The Future
of Capitol Hill's New
Autonomous Zone Is
Predictable" . The Stranger
(newspaper). Retrieved
2020-06-11.

External links
Media related to Capitol Hill
Autonomous Zone at
Wikimedia Commons
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Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org
/w/index.php?title=Capitol_Hill_Auton
omous_Zone&oldid=961909099"

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