But that was not what he saw through the windows of his Seattle coffee shop. He saw encampments overtaking the sidewalks. He saw roving bands of masked protesters smashing windows and looting.
Young white men wielding guns would harangue customers as well as Mr. Khan, a gay man of Middle Eastern descent who moved here from Texas so he could more comfortably be out. To get into his coffee shop, he sometimes had to seek the permission of self-appointed armed guards to cross a border they had erected.
“They barricaded us all in here,” Mr. Khan said. “And they were sitting in lawn chairs with guns.”For 23 days in June, about six blocks in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood were claimed by left-wing demonstrators and declared police-free. Protesters hailed it as liberation — from police oppression, from white supremacy — and a catalyst for a national movement.
In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, the Black Lives Matter movement is calling to defund the police, arguing that the criminal justice system is inherently racist. (...)
Now a group of local businesses owners — including a locksmith, the owner of a tattoo parlor, a mechanic, the owners of a Mexican restaurant and Mr. Khan — is suing the city. The lawsuit claims that “Seattle’s unprecedented decision to abandon and close off an entire city neighborhood, leaving it unchecked by the police, unserved by fire and emergency health services, and inaccessible to the public” resulted in enormous property damage and lost revenue.
The Seattle lawsuit — and interviews with shop owners in cities like Portland and Minneapolis — underscores a key question: Can businesses still rely on local governments, which are now rethinking the role of the police, to keep them safe? The issue is especially tense in Seattle, where the city government not only permitted the establishment of a police-free zone, but provided infrastructure like concrete barriers and portable toilets to sustain it. (...)
The impact of the occupation on Cafe Argento, Mr. Khan’s coffee shop on Capitol Hill, has been devastating. Very few people braved the barricades set up by the armed occupiers to come in for his coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Cars coming to pick up food orders would turn around. At two points, he and his workers felt scared and called 911. “They said they would not come into CHOP,” said Mr. Khan, referring to one of the names that protesters gave to the occupied Capitol Hill area. “It was lawless.” (....)
A confusing array of security teams wandered around, armed with handguns and rifles. Some wore official-looking private security uniforms. Others wore casual clothes and lanyards identifying their affiliation with Black Lives Matter. A third group wore all black with no identifying labels and declined to name their group affiliation.When a tall man in a trench coat and hiking boots walked over to question Mr. Khan, the man spread his coat open, revealing several pistols on harnesses around his chest and waist. He presented a badge on a lanyard that read “Black Lives Matter Community Patrol.”
His name is Rick Hearns and he identified himself as a longtime security guard and mover who is now a Black Lives Matter community guard, in charge of several others. Local merchants pay for his protection, he said as he handed out his business card. (Mr. Khan said he and his neighbors are now paying thousands of dollars a month for protection from Iconic Global, a Washington State-based private security contractor.)
Mr. Hearns has had bad experiences with the police in his own life. He says he wants police reform, but he was appalled by the violent tactics and rhetoric he witnessed during the occupation.
by Nellie Bowles, NY Times | Read more:
Images: Grant Hindsley for The New York Times
[ed. Paying for protection. Isn't that a Mafia thing? CHOP was just a total predictable fuck-up right from the get go, and no one can claim moral high ground now that the whole sordid mess is over. Here's a pretty good summary from the comments:
I live two blocks from the former "CHOP" zone, this is my neighborhood, I had frequent many of the businesses affected. I'm a Democrat who voted for Sawant over an Amazon backed candidate (chagrin leaves a bitter taste). What I witnessed was a total break down of civil society. It felt like the beginning of the end, my worst fears realized. No one has "won" anything. We lost a mayor, the city council, the police, our neighborhood, any sense that ANYTHING was being done, except perhaps letting the temper tantrums of petulant children play out. Except these kids didn't live here, had guns, intimidated my neighbors, and ruined property. The police pouting in their corner, grasping for power, patently ignoring legitimate calls for help. The wild west. The valuable BLM message completely hijacked by self-appointed, disaffected, white, non-residents playing "security". The ANTITHESIS of peaceful protest. An abdication of responsibility to the residents and businesses already in shock from the various crisis roiling all around. I saw no "parlay" or communication from any party. Ignorance, anger, garbage, and destruction on full display. Frustration, acrimony, lots of finger-pointing but zero attempts at any robust peacemaking. To say that I am disappointed by Seattle's response to a desperate need is an understatement. Shame on all parties! And congratulations! A valuable and cathartic opportunity completely squandered! I am actively looking for somewhere else to live.
See also: Owner of Seattle shop who called police during CHOP protests says he's being harassed online (K5).]
See also: Owner of Seattle shop who called police during CHOP protests says he's being harassed online (K5).]
