Protesters who have cordoned off several blocks in Seattle, declaring it a “cop-free zone” and “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” have released a long list of demands, including abolition of the Seattle Police Department and prisons, amnesty for all illegal migrants, and free health care and college for all, especially for blacks as a form of reparations.
The protests are part of a wave of sometimes violent gatherings that have taken place across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police.
“This document is to represent the black voices who spoke in victory at the top of 12th & Pine after 9 days of peaceful protest while under constant nightly attack from the Seattle Police Department. These are words from that night, June 8th, 2020,” the document states.
Hahahaha that Russia Today article got Russians thinking the entirety of Seattle is now an autonomous area. Dream big!
— DESTROY.ERASE.IMPROVE. #BlackLivesMatter #CHAZ (@AustinCHowe) June 10, 2020
The demands are divided into four sections — the justice system, health and human services, economics, and education.
The justice system demands include that the “Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus.” This includes seizing police pensions. It also calls for prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from operating in the city.
Under the health and human services portion of the document it states, “We demand the hospitals and care facilities of Seattle employ black doctors and nurses specifically to help care for black patients” and — even though police will be gone if these demands are met — a separate 911 line manned by mental health professionals.
In both the economic section and elsewhere, the protesters demand free college, socialized medicine, and free public housing.
Sawant speaking at city hall, reminding of the vote on Monday to ban use of chemical weapons and choke holds. Also speaking further on defunding SPD and taxing Amazon. #SeattleProtest #SeattleProtests #Seattle pic.twitter.com/MI7VTpJyzk
— Cortana, but ur dad calls me Katya (@CortanaV) June 10, 2020
The demands are in line with the talking points from the far-left and the Black Lives Matter organization’s political agenda, but the authors of the demand list said the occupied area is being reclaimed for indigenous people.
“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,” the document states.
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