US President Donald Trump has pointed out that an anarchist community that took over a part of Seattle first built a barrier around it, choosing to take that as an endorsement of his wall on the US-Mexico border.
Taking to his social media of choice on Thursday, Trump styled himself as a true visionary as he half-jokingly suggested that the builders of the anarchist utopia (or dystopia, depending on one’s point of view) in Seattle might have drawn inspiration from his own mega-project.
“First thing the anarchists did upon taking over Seattle was ‘BUILD A WALL.’ See, I was ahead of our times!” Trump tweeted.
First thing the anarchists did upon taking over Seattle was “BUILD A WALL”. See, I was ahead of our times!
The so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), also known as Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), was established in Seattle back on June 8, by a motley crew of anarchists, socialists and Black Lives Matter activists. While the self-declared autonomous zone – which spans six blocks – can hardly be described as the takeover of the entire city, it is cop-free, has its own leaders and is barricaded off, although the borders are not shut completely.
Trump has previously promised to deal with the anarchist rebellion in a swift manner, yet the zone still exists, backed by Seattle’s Mayor Jenny Durkan, who refused to take action against it. Durkan described the anarchist zone as a “summer of love,” insisting that the protesters remain peaceful – despite various violent incidents within the CHAZ that mostly happen during the night.
The Seattle zone has inspired protesters in other cities to try and replicate the secessionist enclave. Attempts to do so have been seen in Portland, Oregon and Asheville, North Carolina. Those zones were short-lived, however, and unlike the CHAZ have already been demolished by police.
A CHAZ-like encampment has also popped up in central Philadelphia. According to Occupy PHA movement, one of the groups behind it, the protesters are seeking to turn the encampment into a “permanent, legal and valid and a NO POLICE ZONE,” as well as to transfer all the vacant city-owned properties into a community land trust.
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