Protesters Forcibly Removed From Seattle CHOP Zone

Seattle police forcefully dispersed demonstrators in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupation Protest area yesterday. This came after city Mayor Jenny Durkan signed an emergency order demanding the occupants vacate. The mayor has received tons of backlash for her inaction, and even complicity, in the formation of the infamous “CHOP” zone. It occupied six entire blocks, including an abandoned police precinct, for upwards of twenty days. The mayor only issued the removal order following a series of deadly shootings, but many say her actions came “several deaths too late”. Heavy machinery crews worked for hours yesterday in order to dismantle the concrete barriers surrounding the zone. It’s reported 31 people were arrested during the incident and anyone else still in the area will be subject to the same fate. Hundreds of officers remained afterwards to help clean up. Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said the amount of damage and destruction done to the area was absolutely shocking and devastating.