The so-called “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” is a roughly seven-block section of Seattle, Washington where radical Black Lives Matter protesters along with Antifa have essentially declared their own country. They have makeshift living accommodations and armed guards patrolling the perimeter and shaking down businesses unlucky enough to be caught in their secession. It has been days since this nonsense had started and the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) have kept it off the air.
While the networks were busy trying to make the recent nationwide protests seem reasonable by ignoring radical provocations such as the “autonomous zone” and glossing over calls to “defund the police,” Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight had a reporter on the ground observing the chaos firsthand.
“Yeah, this is the third night of what can only be described as a complete takeover of a seven-block area of a Seattle neighborhood, and we don’t see a single police officer or city official anywhere,” reported correspondent Dan Springer. “So, it doesn’t appear as if the protesters are digging in for the long haul.”
He noted that Seattle police relinquished control of the area to the radical mob “after receiving a credible threat that criminals within the protest group were planning to burn it down.” He added: “They [Seattle police] did not say how cutting-and-running makes it safe here.”
While telling viewers what he and his crew had seen and heard while on the ground, including reports of businesses being extorted at gunpoint, a man who had been trying to intimidate them started shrieking nonsensical sounds (Click “expand”):
As we looked around the police-free zone today, we saw roughly 20 tens, lots of graffiti, and barricades at each of the entrances. There’s also security guards [protester starts shrieking] and one had several ammunition clips.
One of our find protesters here showing his ignorance.
A local station got video of several guards armed with assault rifles, they are asking for identification before for letting people in and police have received reports of the armed guards demanding money from some businesses inside their area. We also saw people passing out food at what they call a no-cop co-op.
Reading from the group’s apparent list of demands from the city, Springer noted that they wanted to “abolish the Seattle Police Department and the court system, disarm all cops until they are all fired, and abolish youth jails.”
The live shot ended after the person haunting them started screaming “Who do you work for?” Thus, Carlson had to read more of their radical demands:
They’re also demanding the immediate retrial of all nonwhite violent felons currently in prison, people convicted of a violent crime who are not white, they all need new trials. But they’re also demanding abolition of all prisons, not just those for young people. They demand a ban on disturbing homeless encampments in any way. They demand an end to all evictions. They demand segregated hospitals, something we were pleased to get over60 years ago, but they want them back. They want black doctors and nurses exclusively hired to care for black patients, they want segregation. You cool with that? And, of course, they demand an immediate amnesty for all rioters in the past two weeks.
“We wanted to share those demands with you, be honest about them because nobody else is going to tell you,” he correctly concluded.
Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of RealClearPolitics, commented on the silence by expertly pointing out the liberal media’s double standard in their lack of coverage: “If a bunch of MAGAs took over a section of Seattle & declared their independence, the media would lose their marbles.”
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight
June 10, 2020
8:24:16 p.m. EasternTUCKER CARLSON: An army of Black Lives Matter activists have taken over six city blocks in downtown Seattle. They’re surrounding an abandoned police precinct building. They’ve give themselves a name the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, that’s their new country within the borders of our country. They say they will not leave and disband their new nation until the city’s police department is abolished completely. Dan Springer is at the zoning in Seattle for us tonight. Dan?
DAN SPRINGER: Yeah, this is the third night of what can only be described as a complete takeover of a seven-block area of a Seattle neighborhood, and we don’t see a single police officer or city official anywhere. So, it doesn’t appear as if the protesters are digging in for the long haul.
They’re calling it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. I’ve also seen the name Free Capitol Hill. And right in the center of it is the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct. Police said today they boarded up and abandoned the building on Monday after receiving a credible threat that criminals within the protest group were planning to burn it down. They did not say how cutting-and-running makes it safe here.
As we looked around the police-free zone today, we saw roughly 20 tens, lots of graffiti, and barricades at each of the entrances. There’s also security guards [protester starts shrieking] and one had several ammunition clips.
One of our find protesters here showing his ignorance.
A local station got video of several guards armed with assault rifles, they are asking for identification before for letting people in and police have received reports of the armed guards demanding money from some businesses inside their area. We also saw people passing out food at what they call a no-cop co-op.
And they made a long list of demands. We have a full screen to show you at least some of them. Among them, abolish the Seattle Police Department and the court system, disarm all cops until they are all fired, and abolish youth jails.
[Protester shouting “who do you work for?”]
The mayor’s office did not respond to our request for information about what they plan to do next and how this all ends. And you can see one of our fine protesters here just yelling to hear himself yell. Yeah, very good. Okay, so Tucker, we’ll send it back to you. This is what we’re dealing with out here.
CARLSON: Be careful, Dan. Well, that’s America right now tonight, it’s totally cool, not a big deal, just upset about police brutality. Right.
The demands, you heard Dan Springer mention a couple of them, abolishing the police. They’re also demanding the immediate retrial of all nonwhite violent felons currently in prison, people convicted of a violent crime who are not white, they all need new trials. But they’re also demanding abolition of all prisons, not just those for young people. They demand a ban on disturbing homeless encampments in any way. They demand an end to all evictions. They demand segregated hospitals, something we were pleased to get over60 years ago, but they want them back. They want black doctors and nurses exclusively hired to care for black patients, they want segregation. You cool with that? And, of course, they demand an immediate amnesty for all rioters in the past two weeks.
We wanted to share those demands with you, be honest about them because nobody else is going to tell you.
(…)