The mayor of Seattle and the city's police chief both said they did not order officers to withdraw from a sealed-off part of the city that's now being called the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone" (CHAZ).
According to The Stranger, Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle Police chief Carmen Best were asked Thursday about police officers abandoning a precinct located in the area earlier this week. Since Tuesday, the area with a radius of five blocks has been under the control of the community, not police, as protests continue following the death of George Floyd nearly three weeks ago.
"We were asked to do an operational plan in case we needed to leave," Best said. The decision was made. We're still evaluating about how that change came about but it didn't come from me."
Durkan also denied ordering police to leave the area, and then responded to claims by President Donald Trump that the section of the city is being run by "domestic terrorists."
"It's simply not true. Lawfully gathering and expressing first amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society, and providing true equity for communities of color is not terrorism. It's patriotism," she said.
Trump has threatened to send in the National Guard or the military if local and state leaders don't act.
"If we have to go in, we are going to go in. The governor either is going to — let the governor do it — but he's got great National Guard troops, he can do it," Trump said.
"One way or the other, it is going to get done. These people are not going to occupy a major portion of a great city."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.