White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany opened Wednesday’s press briefing by celebrating the fall of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle, Washington, saying the city had been “liberated.”
“I am pleased to inform everyone that Seattle has been liberated,” she said moments after taking the podium. “In President Trump’s America, autonomous zones will have no sanctuary.”
The statement comes after Democratic Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan at long last relented and directed authorities to tear down the short-lived zone. Protesters had taken over six blocks in the downtown area, forced out police, and set up a commune-like organization which saw violence on a nightly bases.
.@PressSec: “I am pleased to inform everyone that Seattle has been liberated.”
Full video here: https://t.co/M0FzJX0qC0 pic.twitter.com/zpCYgfP5PZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 1, 2020
McEnany also praised Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best for taking action. (RELATED: NYC Protesters Form Human Barricade In Front Of City Hall)
“Enough is enough. The CHOP has become lawless and brutal,” Best had said in a statement. “My job, and the job of our officers, is to protect and serve our community. This is not an end to our department’s engagement with demonstrators.”
Even as the autonomous zone in Seattle was dismantled, another rose in New York City, however. Police arrived en-force to confront the protesters outside City Hall Wednesday morning.
The NYC protesters seek roughly $1 billion in budget cuts to the New York Police Department. Mayor Bill deBlasio has sought to grant their request.