By Tyler O’Neil
As antifa militants have taken over six blocks of Seattle’s Capitol Hill district, declaring independence from the United Stats and calling their territory the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ) or the “People’s Republic of Capitol Hill,” President Donald Trump urged Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) to put down this unconstitutional rebellion. Rather than taking the insurrection seriously, both Inslee and Durkan defended the rebels against Trump and condemned the president’s call for law and order as “illegal and unconstitutional.”
“I spoke with [Durkan] and her team about the situation on Capitol Hill. Although unpermitted, and we should remember we are still in a pandemic, the area is largely peaceful. Peaceful protests are fundamentally American, and I am hopeful there will be a peaceful resolution,” Inslee tweeted.
“What we will not allow are threats of military violence against Washingtonians coming from the White House. The U.S. military serves to protect Americans, not the fragility of an insecure president,” the governor declared.
What we will not allow are threats of military violence against Washingtonians coming from the White House.
The U.S. military serves to protect Americans, not the fragility of an insecure president.
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) June 11, 2020
Inslee then pivoted to the pandemic, insisting that “the Trump administration knows what Washington needs right now – the resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. If the president wants to show leadership, and that he cares about the people in this state, he should send us the PPE we’ve needed for months.”
Durkan proved even more explicit. “Lawfully gathering and expressing first amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society and provide true equity for communities of color is not terrorism – it is patriotism,” the mayor tweeted.
Lawfully gathering and expressing first amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society and provide true equity for communities of color is not terrorism – it is patriotism.
— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) June 11, 2020