Armed BLM/Antifa "activists" take over six square blocks of a Seattle neighborhood

[Mark Crispin Miller]

This "victory" by "the left" has made almost no news outside of Twitter.

Fox reported the beginnings of the conflict 16 hours ago, while all the 

other national media have ignored it—as did the dailies in Seattle and

Portland, until about an hour ago, when the Seattle Times put out this

rather friendly piece:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/welcome-to-the-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone-where-seattle-protesters-gather-without-police

The City Journal article below, which went up some 8 hours ago, describes a 

darker scene, including this:

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.

Whatever's going on there, it's not "anarchy," as the headline here calls it,

but something else, which isn't good: a bold, outlandish provocation, more

than likely to bring on further violence, and, if it continues, martial law, if

Trump should take the bait.

The media silence is the strangest thing about it. Could it be that New York

Times et al. won't touch it, because the flagrant violence of those armed 

"activists" runs counter to the story of Good Protest that "our free press" 

has been pumping out for days? According to their propaganda line, it's 

only neo-Nazis who wield guns.  

If anyone knows anyone who's following this story on the ground, please

share whatever you find out.

MCM

p.s. I'm told that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey isn't having anyone try to fact-

check what's getting posted. 

Anarchy in Seattle

Antifa-affiliated activists seize control of a city neighborhood and declare an “autonomous zone.”

Christopher F. Rufo

June 10, 2020 

The Social Order

Seattle’s hard-Left secessionist movement has claimed its first territory: six blocks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

For the past week, Black Lives Matter and Antifa-affiliated activists have engaged in a pitched battle with Seattle police officers and National Guard soldiers in the neighborhood, with the heaviest conflict occurring at the intersection of 11th and Pike, where law enforcement had constructed a barricade to defend the Seattle Police East Precinct building. Hoping to break through the barricade, protesters attacked officers with bricks, bottles, rocks, and improvised explosive devices, sending some officers to the hospital. At the same time, activists circulated videos of the conflict and accused the police of brutality, demanding that the city cease using teargas and other anti-riot techniques.

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.”

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.

Nikkita Oliver, a radical activist and former mayoral candidate, emerged as a critical voice of the protest movement and assumed a leadership role in the newly declared autonomous zone. After night fell and a light rain began falling, she spoke to the crowd and outlined the ideological commitments behind the occupation. “[We need to] align ourselves with the global struggle that acknowledges [that] the United States plays a role in racialized capitalism,” she told protestors. “Racialized capitalism is built upon patriarchy, white supremacy, and classism.”

Click on the link for the rest.