The CHOP, formerly the CHAZ (which I liked better, anyway), was an embarrassment to the city and people of Seattle. Some within the area felt they were unable to speak out about the CHOP for fear that Antifa militants would kill them. As it is, two people did die in the CHOP. It seems that having an area where the police aren’t present might have some implications on crime.

Who knew?

Anyway, the most important fact about the CHOP? It’s no more.

On Wednesday morning, Seattle police finally removed the anarchist and antifa rebels/protesters from the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) Occupied Protest (CHOP), which Todd Herman cleverly dubbed “antifastan.” Yet as the police went about restoring order to the six-block area unlawfully seized in the wake of the George Floyd protests, the police department reported a rather unnerving sight. It appears armed militants were patrolling the area in cars stripped of license plates.

“Officers are investigating several vehicles circling the area of today’s operation. Police have observed individuals in the vehicles with firearms/armor. The vehicles also appear to be operating without visible license plates,” the Seattle Police Department tweeted.

…

All the same, the restoration of law and order in Seattle’s Capitol Hill district is worth celebrating. In fact, Ngo had to suspend his disbelief to report the final return of police on Wednesday. Last Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) announced that she would break up CHOP after two shootings the previous weekend, one of which tragically claimed the life of a 19-year-old black man. Yet she only sent city workers, not police, in to break up the lawless occupation, and her efforts failed. After another black person, this time a 16-year-old boy, tragically lost his life in a shooting this Monday, it appears she finally did what was necessary to get the job done.

Of course, it’s also important to note that Durkan only stepped up to the plate when it became personal.

It wasn’t until CHOP supporters marched on her home–an address that’s meant to be confidential but now isn’t–that Durkan got riled up enough to send in the police. It wasn’t the murder of a 14-year-old boy in the CHOP. No, it took two more days before the police rolled in.

That didn’t happen until Durkan felt personally threatened.

Durkan was outright supportive of the CHOP from the start, calling it a second “Summer of Love,” which aged poorly after two murders, to be sure. I always pictured a second Summer of Love as being less murdery. Go figure.

For many who own businesses inside the CHOP, they probably don’t care why Durkan finally allowed the police to come and restore order. At least one person from inside the area, someone who seems sympathetic to the overall Black Lives Matter movement, said that he was concerned about speaking out due to fear that Antifa militants inside the CHOP would kill him.

Now, maybe that gentleman can rest a bit easier.

At the end of the day, this should spell the end of Durkan’s political career. Of course, this is Seattle we’re talking about, so I won’t hold my breath.