Seattle 'summer of love' mayor negotiates with occupiers

The East Precinct of the Seattle Police Department is in the self-declared "autonomous zone" called "Free Capitol Hill" (Twitter user Julio Rosas)

Seattle Democratic Mayor Jenny Durkan has famously called the seizure of a section of her city by radical Antifa, anarchist and Black Lives Matter militants as something akin to the "summer of love."

And now she and city officials have engaged in negotiations with the radicals demanding the abolishment of Seattle Police Department and the city's court system, agreeing to remove temporary roadblocks and replace them with concrete barriers, in exchange for ceding three blocks of "occupied territory," Fox News reported.

The protesters previously called the area the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ. They've changed the name to CHOP, for the Capitol Hill Organized Protest.

It's the first time in weeks that traffic will be able to pass by the East Police Precinct, which was abandoned by the department to prevent a violent clash with protesters.

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The addition of concrete barriers, reported local KCPQ reporter Brandi Kruse via Twitter, because it's a "clear sign that the city is letting protesters stay long term."

"They are specifically adding wood around concrete barriers for people to decorate," she said.

The addition of concrete barriers in #CHOP this morning is actually very significant for a couple reasons.

1) This is a clear sign that the city is letting protesters stay long term. They are specifically adding wood around concrete barriers for people to decorate. pic.twitter.com/KDsQFbW8Ua

— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) June 16, 2020

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said Thursday her officers had heard of "armed people" in the zone "demanding payment from business owners in exchange for protection." After visiting the zone, Best told reporters her department's calls for service there had more than tripled. But zone "authorities" wouldn't allow her officers to respond.

"These are responses to emergency calls — rapes, robberies, and all sorts of violent acts that have been occurring in the area that we’re not able to get to," she said.

In an interview Monday night with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Best said CHOP has slowed police response times in the area, but "if we get a call, there's an important emergency, a 911 call, we’re going in."

Summer of Love#chaz #chop #CHOPseattle pic.twitter.com/8wBhRlM45R

— Kafka (@kafka_code) June 16, 2020

Early Monday morning, a Seattle auto repair shop just outside the CHOP's initial perimeter was broken into by a protester who attempted to light a fire. The owner detained the protester. But despite more than a dozen 911 calls, the owner said, no police or fire personnel arrived at the scene. Armed protesters broke down the fence, demanding the suspect be released.

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Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously Monday to ban police from using chokeholds and crowd-control devices such as tear gas and pepper spray.

Durkan, has clashed with President Trump on Twitter over her handling of the CHOP.

Last week, Trump warned that if Durkan doesn't regain control of the Seattle neighborhood, he will.

On Monday, she wrote: "Seattle won't lose sight of what we need: allowing our community to exercise their first amendment rights, demilitarizing our police force, rethinking who responds to 9-1-1 calls, and investing more to create meaningful change for our black and brown communities."

Durkan said Trump "will do anything to avoid listening to the voices of millions of Americans asking for change."

"He instead distracts with lies and language purposefully intended to incite violence. He thrives on division when we desperately need to move forward as a nation," she said.

Last week, Durkan reacted to Trump's labeling of the CHOP protesters as "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 on Twitter.

In another tweet she said it's clear Trump "doesn’t understand what’s happening on five square blocks of our City."

Durkan said in an interview Thursday night with CNN's Chris Cuomo on “Cuomo Primetime" that the zone is "more like a block party atmosphere."

"We could have the summer of love," she said.

The mayor insisted it's "not an armed takeover" or a "military junta."

"We will make sure that we can restore this," she said.

Durkan argued that the neighborhood is known for its "block parties."