Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) (also referred to as Free Capitol Hill, the Capitol Hill Free Zone (CHFZ), or the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP)) was a self-declared autonomous region that emerged in Seattle, Washington, in June 2020. It was established by protesters in response to the killing of George Floyd and aimed to challenge traditional power structures within the city and promote a peaceful approach to social justice, adopting the slogan "Free Capitol Hill". During its existence, CHAZ encompassed six city blocks within Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, including the area surrounding the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct, which was abandoned on June 8, 2020 when all the police left the area.
Within the zone, protesters set up tents, community gardens, and established various forms of self-governance. The area functioned as a space for demonstrations and artistic expressions. The existence of CHAZ was relatively short-lived, as the Seattle Police Department eventually reclaimed the precinct and dismantled the zone in early July 2020.
Background
Capitol Hill is a place in Seattle. Sometimes, it has lots of people who gathered to talk about problems, but in the summer of 2020, became a center of major civil unrest, violence, looting and crime.
On May 29, 2020, many people gathered to protest the killing of George Floyd. Some people fought police and soldiers, but nobody died. Some people stood around a building with police inside. Police used pepper spray to get the people to go away, but it did not work. Then, police covered the windows in the building with wood. Then, police went away and did not lock the doors in the building. The people who stood around the building then falsely stated that the area with and near the building was a new country, and was not in the United States of America anymore.
Geography
Near the middle of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is a building that was used by police. There are many kitchens on the street in the area, as well as a park. The park has a large screen that plays movies outside.
There are walls on the streets that keep people from entering without permission, near the edges of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. There is also lots of paint put on walls.
There are homes in the area. There are also restaurants and small businesses.
Government
There were no paid police officers in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. There were many people who had guns in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. No one outside of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone knows who the leaders in their government were. Some people think their leader was a singer named Raz Simone. Others think their leader was Nikkita Oliver. Nikkita Oliver wants to be the mayor of Seattle, but lost the election. The leader puts things that they want people to do on paper, and then put the paper on walls.
Services
Tents were built for people to live in. Water, food, and soap was given to people for free. The United States Government gave toilets to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone and cleaned up their trash. The United States Government said that it would have put out any fires that started in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.
The Government of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone made shields that can be used to fight, and gave them to it's citizens.
Problems
The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone did not allow police officers from Seattle to come into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Seattle had said that it would not try to put police into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, unless someone has killed someone else, or is about to.
Shootings
On June 7, 2020, a man drove his car into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Some people say he tried to run into people to hurt them. A person that the man did not know tried to get into his car. The person driving the car shot the person that tried to get into the car, but they did not die.
On June 20, 2020, two men were shot. One of them was Horace Anderson, and he was 19 years old. He died because he was shot. The other man was named DeJuan Young, who was 33 years old, but he did not die. Dejuan Young says that he was shot because he was black. When police heard gunshots, they tried to come into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, but the protesters did not want them to. The people in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone pushed police out of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.
On June 21, 2020, a man that was 17 years old was shot in his arm. He did not die. Police who solve crimes tried to ask him why he was shot, but he did not want to talk to them.
On June 23, 2020, a man who was about 30 years old was shot at around 5:00 am. He did not die.
Reporters
The government of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone said that people who work for Fox News are not allowed into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Sometimes reporters from Fox News went into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. If they were found by people in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, they would be asked to leave, or be attacked.
Reactions
The creation of CHAZ sparked significant debates and received mixed reactions from the public, as supporters praised it as an experiment in direct democracy and grassroots organizing, highlighting its focus on community engagement and police reform. However, critics, including President Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, noted the potential safety issues, loss of public services, and the lack of legitimacy in establishing an autonomous zone within the city. The Mayor of Seattle Jenny Durkan considered it to be a party rather than an attempt at a real country. Many residents of Seattle sued the city in an attempt to move people out of the zone.
References
Geography of Seattle
June 2020 events
2020 protests