Seattle to move to dismantle protest zone, says mayor

Officials are working with the community to bring the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” zone to an end after two weeks, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said at a news conference.

Seattle’s mayor says the city will move to wind down the “occupied” protest zone following two recent shootings, including one that left a man dead.

A person walks past a sign welcoming visitors Monday, June 22, 2020, near an entrance to what has been named the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone in Seattle. (AP)

Mayor Jenny Durkan said at a news conference Monday that officials are working with the community to bring the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” zone to an end after two weeks.

The mayor said the violence was distracting from changes sought by thousands of peaceful protesters seeking to address racial inequity and police brutality. The area has drawn President Donald Trump’s scorn.

On Sunday night, a 17-year-old was shot in the arm at the edge of the area known as CHOP, named for the Capitol Hill neighborhood near downtown. It followed a shooting Saturday that left a 19-year-old man dead and another person critically wounded.

Protesters cordoned off the several-block area near a police station after clashes with officers following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Seattle riot squads unleashed tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bangs on large crowds of mostly peaceful protesters, drawing condemnation from many city leaders and a federal court order temporarily banning the use of the weapons on demonstrators.