This weekend, Americans will celebrate Independence Day, which commemorates the day when the colonial Continental Congress declared independence from the British Empire almost 250 years ago. It is notable because it comes as another group of people recently tried to declare their independence from the American Empire.
In early June, a group of protestors in Seattle took over a six-block portion of the city and called it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). It was later renamed to the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP). This was inspired by the mass protests around the country triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers.
Rather than controlling the protestors, the city police and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan have for the most part left the area alone. This portion of the city basically became a limited law-enforcement area or a “sandbox” where the law does not apply. The protestors set up barricades surrounding the zone. They also took over the East Precinct, the only police station in the area, renaming it the Seattle People Department.
Why did the local government let this happen? Perhaps it was a way to contain the protestors and let them express themselves in a designated area. Otherwise, the protests and possible property destruction could have spread randomly throughout the city. Containment was also important in order to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
What was life like in the CHAZ/CHOP? It depends on who you ask. It was either a festival-like atmosphere or a “summer of love” as the mayor called it. Others have called it a zone of uncontrolled, lawless anarchy.
In the beginning, life in the autonomous zone seemed pretty good. There was free food from various cultural cuisines (and vegan), yoga classes, speeches on police brutality, and movie screenings. Volunteers were caring for the homeless. You saw people of all races walking around in the local park. At night, there were demonstrations. The zone even had some makeshift public services such as a medical center and a volunteer security force.
It seemed like the ideal society that functioned because everyone chipped in and everyone got along. There may have been some minor incidents and disturbances, but it was nothing the local leaders or the volunteer security force couldn’t handle. When everyone gets along, who needs the police? And local government for that matter?
But we soon learned why we cannot have nice things. It was only a matter of time before the criminals and trolls become aware of what they could get away with when Five-O is not around. Also, people are going to disagree, and some will turn to violence to get their way.
Since June 20, there were multiple shootings at the CHAZ. This resulted in two deaths, both of whom were African-Americans. There were anecdotal reports of people and businesses being victims of extortion as they were forced to pay for protection. There was a report of arson and a deaf woman being sexually assaulted.
And those are the crimes the police know about. Who knows about the crimes and acts of intimidation that went unreported. The victims could have been scared of retaliation. Or they think no one will believe them because witnesses don’t want to snitch. Or they weren’t confident that the security force didn’t have the power to protect them. Or their moral or political conviction was so strong that they were willing to sacrifice their dignity if reporting the crime would be used as justification for shutting down CHAZ, discrediting the Black Lives Matter movement, or worst of all, proving that President Donald Trump could have been right.
The criminal activity became so bad that the police chief and the mayor said that CHAZ will be dismantled. The barricades surrounding the protest zone will be removed. And the police are expected to return to the East Precinct in the near future. Even the so-called leaders acknowledged that the CHAZ movement has concluded.
CHAZ was an interesting observation, and the party was fun while it lasted. It was not meant to be a miniature attempt at secession. The protestors claimed they would disband if the government met their demands, which included defunding police, abolishing prisons, reparations for victims of police brutality, and retrials of people of color imprisoned for violent crimes, by a jury of their peers. Some of these demands would be difficult or near impossible to meet without causing greater chaos.
But as an alternative society, CHAZ really wasn’t sustainable. How long was the free food going to last? Eventually, it will stop unless someone is willing to pay for it. Will it get corporate sponsors, or will protestors somehow shame them into “donating”? Or will they charge an admission fee? Or will there be some sort of tax system?
The volunteer security force wouldn’t last long as well. Risking your life on a volunteer basis is not something most people will want to do on a long-term basis. Also, they might be outmatched and outgunned if organized gangs decide to seize control.
While CHAZ was unsuccessful in its declaration of independence, there will be future attempts to set up an autonomous zone or some other “regulatory sandbox” with one or more idealistic purposes. On a very simple level it might work. But we live in a complex society where idealism must be tempered with practicality. In the case of CHAZ, the free food will stop coming eventually. And some people will resort to violence and will only respect a greater power than themselves.
While CHAZ tried to show the possibility of a police-free society, it ironically showed why law enforcement is necessary as the number and severity of crimes began to increase. The city and the “leaders” of CHAZ wisely shut the project down before the violence got out of hand.
Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at sachimalbe@excite.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.