This footage was filmed and produced on 16 June 2020.
CHAZ/CHOP all looks very peaceful. There are people walking with kids and with dogs on its territory.
CHAZ may be all of these, but it is also the acronym for the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” an area of about six blocks in Seattle ceded to protesters demanding justice for George Floyd after several tense nights of standoffs with police.
Reports from CHAZ, described by The Stranger as “exceedingly chill,” make it sound like a mix of Occupy Wall Street and a college independent cooperative dorm. The cordoned-off area includes apartments, businesses, and the precinct, with protesters free to gather away from any police. According to news reports and accounts from observers, there is a “No Cop Co-Op” with free food, vegan pizza, LaCroix (and White Claw), a hot dog stand (not free), a medical center, a Mutual Aid Books table, a garden, and a giant Black Lives Matter mural. Filmed by Polina Ladonshchikova