Battle to dismantle 'CHOP' zone could be far from over in Seattle
Will occupiers actually leave? Local business owner Joey Rodolfo has an update from the ground.
Joey Rodolfo, the owner of a clothing store in Seattle, which is close to the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone, or CHOP, told “Fox & Friends First” that “there is no end in sight" to the dispute between the city and the protesters.
Rodolfo, the co-founder of Buki clothing, made the comments as authorities in Seattle are planning to retake CHOP, after several shootings and a number of other crimes have been reported in what protestors have declared a “cop-free zone.”
One man has died and another remains hospitalized in critical condition Monday following the latest shooting in the area first referred to as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ.
City efforts to dismantle the CHOP were thwarted Friday when protesters laid down in the street to block Seattle Department of Transportation crews and heavy machinery from removing barricades around the occupied zone. Crews left after two hours without removing the barricades.
Negotiations between city leadership and organizers over the weekend did not prove fruitful, as hundreds of protesters have reportedly refused to leave the Capitol Hill area.
The first fatality inside CHOP was recorded on June 20 when a 19-year-old protester was shot. Another man was injured in the incident.
The death prompted Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to announce last week the city would begin efforts to dismantle the CHOP, asking organizers to convince protesters to disperse to avoid police intervention.
Rodolfo explained the “frustration” on Monday.
CHOP ORGANIZERS EYEING AREA NEAR PRECINCT, REFOCUSING AWAY FROM PARK: REPORT
“The City Council said that they were going to take the CHOP zone down on Friday and the agitators won that one,” Rodolfo said. “Then they said it was going to happen Sunday, agitators won again. Now they’re saying it’s Monday.”
“So you know what happens when you keep moving the goalpost, right? The goalposts keep moving,” he continued.
“We don’t have any confidence that this is going to end anytime soon,” he added, noting that city council members, the mayor and governor are to blame.
“I will tell you that we have a very capable police force that could probably go in there, but we believe they probably have a stand-down order so for all of us citizens right now, there’s a huge concern that this will continue to perpetuate itself and just keep getting bigger and bigger,” Rodolfo said.
He added that he thinks “we need a great team to come in and lend some help.”
Last week, Rodolfo told “Fox & Friends” that he plans to move out of the state, citing “no leadership” and a “socialist” city council as reasons for his decision.
Rodolfo noted that businesses in the area “have not opened up.”
“This city has gotten so progressive here lately that I talked to my friends who own restaurants and other businesses and I can tell you, the crescendo keeps increasing here with people that are saying, ‘We want out,’” Rodolfo said.
“The other piece of it from the City Council is all they talk about is raising our taxes,” he went on to say. “We’re trying to get downtown rolling and they’re out here towing cars, that’s a priority, towing cars in downtown Seattle is a priority for them.”
Numerous Seattle businesses – including an auto repair shop, a tattoo parlor and a property management company – sued the city last week, alleging city officials were complicit in allowing an “occupied protest” that has made them feel unsafe in their neighborhood, according to reports.
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Demonstrators moved in and occupied the neighborhood on June 8 after police pulled out of their East Precinct building following more than a week of protests over the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, some of which grew violent. Floyd died while in police custody.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.
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