SEATTLE'S COP-FREE DEBACLE
“If the [politicians] wanted to solve [CHOP] all they had to do was send people back to work and school, and that would have decreased [CHOP’s] numbers.” certainly paid professional activists, while others may have linked up with protests after work. He highlighted one agitator who was arrested for assaulting a police officer. The guy had listed on his Facebook page that he worked at Google’s cafeteria. coronavirus lockdown. Seattle business owner and former city council candidate Ari Hoffman joked during our interview that, “If the [politicians] wanted to solve [CHOP] all they had to do was send people back to work and school, and that would have decreased [CHOP’s] numbers.” It’s still unclear, though, how many CHOP “residents” held full-time jobs. Jason Rantz noted that some folks were
WHAT NOW FOR SEATTLE AND OTHER AMERICAN CITIES? A proper postmortem is needed to expose the main players behind CHOP – if only to help other elected leaders identify potential threats to their municipalities. Who was behind CHOP? What did they want? And do they fade away if President Donald Trump loses re- election or is the problem deeper than party politics? Who are the people behind CHOP? “CHOP was occupied by a cross section of area activists plus your normal fix of homeless people who already lived in the area,” Seattle radio host Jason Rantz told American Consequences . “Antifa members, including those with the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, were a common fixture,” he added. By now, most people are probably familiar with the black-clad, pipe-wielding Antifa militants whom Trump accurately branded a “terrorist organization.” But people may not be familiar with the John Brown Gun Club. This extremist group is the armed security wing of Antifa. “We believe in active resistance to the corrosive and destructive social effects of white supremacy, sexism, bigotry, and economic exploitation,” the club boasts on their website. Last year, a former member tried to blow up an ICE facility outside of Seattle before he was permanently neutralized by authorities. Beyond Antifa members playing pretend soldier, CHOP was flooded with restless white students – likely going stir-crazy because of Washington State’s onerous
What do these activists want?
CHOP consisted of various Black Lives Matter affiliates and socialist organizations, like the Socialist Alternative. The socialism angle is an important one to explore. When the phalanx of CHOP accomplices released a catalog of demands, it read like a Marxist wish list. • The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition... This means 100% of funding, including existing
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July 2020
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