Reports: Antifa-Linked Armed Volunteers Join Seattle’s ‘Autonomous Zone’

SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 10: A volunteer holds a firearm while working security at an entrance t
David Ryder/Getty Images
AWR Hawkins

The group of far-left protesters who have set up an “autonomous zone” in Seattle include Antifa activists, some of whom are armed.

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), — an area of six square blocks seized by a loose coalition of anarchist, Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and other far-left organizers — has declared itself independent of the local, state, and federal governments, and police have withdrawn from the area. The CHAZ has set up barricades with entry checkpoints, according to Seattle Police Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette.

Social media profiles of Antifa activists have posted photos from inside the AZ, with one viral post calling for “more people with guns.”

That need was quickly met, as The Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club (PSJBGC), a self-identified and widely recognized Antifa group, announced its presence at the CHAZ and said it is “providing safety patrols” via social media. Independent journalist Jake Hanrahan and a video from inside the CHAZ corroborate the statements from these purported PSJBGC accounts.

President Donald Trump announced at the end of May that the federal government will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, after several nights of violent riots in cities across America in response to the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

A Medium blog post from a purported CHAZ activist lists 30 demands for the City Council and Seattle Mayor.

The first two center on abolishing the Seattle Police Deparment.

Demand one states:

The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition. We demand that the Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus. This means 100% of funding, including existing pensions for Seattle Police. At an equal level of priority we also demand that the city disallow the operations of ICE in the city of Seattle.

The second demand is “no guns, no batons, no riot shields, [and] no chemical weapons,” be used against protesters during the “transitory period” in which the police department is being dismantled.

The list of demands are followed by a statement: “Although we have liberated Free Capitol Hill in the name of the people of Seattle, we must not forget that we stand on land already once stolen from the Duwamish People, the first people of Seattle, and whose brother, John T. Williams of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe up north was murdered by the Seattle Police Department 10 years ago.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include additional evidence of Antifa activists’ involvement in the “autonomous zone” and their efforts to arm the group.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

 

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