You are now entering the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone

☂ ☂ ☂

CHAZ.zone is a hub for information and resources about the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), a.k.a. Capitol Hill Occupied/Organized Protest (CHOP), established the evening of June 8, 2020 in the midst of the George Floyd protests in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, WA. The zone was formed following the Seattle Police Department's sudden abandonment of the East Precinct after ten days of barricades, tear gas, pepper spray, and flashbang grenades used against largely peaceful protesters. This site aims to track its history and ongoing developments.

last update: Thursday, June 18, 2020 @ 9:00 p.m.


← gallery →

Map

CHAZ/CHOP boundaries & key locations (
end of week 1) (
new in week 2)
(have yet to update with week 2 closed/moved spaces)

Supplies

No Cop Co-op daily list of needs: Community garden daily list of needs:

Donate

Supply donations can be made in-person. Food/pizza can be delivered to the corner of 11th Ave. & E Pine St., Seattle, WA.

For monetary/cash donations, especially from non-Seattle residents, please consider donating to a local bail fund or BLM chapter instead.

Conversation

Most happens in-person! Talk to people in the space itself for volunteer opportunities or ways to help out.

Twitter hashtags: #CHAZ, #CHOP, #CapitolHillAutonomousZone (and its misspelling #CapitalHillAutonomousZone), #SeattleAutonomousZone, #seattlechaz, #chopseattle. Other related hashtags include #seattleprotest, #seattleprotests, and #seattleprotestcomms.

Timeline & events

Monday 6/8 (click to toggle)
  • 6:30 p.m. – Police vacate area; first protesters & cyclists cross 12th Ave.
  • Precinct sign covered to read "Seattle People Department"
Tuesday 6/9
  • 2 p.m. – No Cop Co-op finishes construction; educational speakers & teach-ins at 12th/Pine
  • Community garden opens behind field in Cal Anderson Park
  • Central "CHAZ" graffiti added
  • 6 p.m. – Rally/public meeting in park info
  • 10:30 p.m. – Screening of Ava DuVernay's documentary "13th"
  • Night – "Welcome to Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone" sign (at 12th/Pine) & "ALT ROUTE EXIT 1312" sign (at Nagle/Pine) go up
Wednesday 6/10
  • 3 p.m. – People's Assembly/town hall meeting & discussion forum info livestream 1, 2
  • Free Derry Corner-inspired "You are now entering Free Cap Hill" sign (at 10th/Pine) goes up
  • Organized trash & recycling collection begins; Seattle DSA chapter sets up tent at 11th/Pine northern crosswalk
  • CHAZ People's Library, Zines & Supplies table & People's Community Clinic open
  • Wall at corner of 11th & Pine (by Stout) painted white, then red/black/green (commission by building owner)
  • 7 p.m. – "Black Lives Matter" street mural begins; Tim Eyman visits and is booed away
  • 8 p.m. – Central "CHAZ" grafitti expands & is completed
  • 9:15 p.m. – Poetry reading & music by Marshall Law Band
  • 10:30 p.m. – Screening of "Paris Is Burning"
Thursday 6/11
  • Conversation Café opens
  • Coloring in of white "Black Lives Matter" mural letters
  • 3 p.m. – Town hall meeting (planned daily) livestream
  • 5:55 p.m. – Police exit from precinct onto 12th to meet with more trying to breach barricade from Pike; depart shortly, shoving protesters & deploying pepper spray in the process
  • 6:20 p.m. – Street preachers cause disruption in 11th/Pine plaza
  • 10:00 p.m. – Community teach-ins & performances at 12th/Pine info livestream
Friday 6/12
  • 3 a.m. – Individual attempts to set fire to East Precinct, quickly extinguished by others
  • 9:45 a.m. – Basketball hoop set up in 11th/Pine plaza
  • No Cop Co-op sets up additional water, fruit/vegetables & canned goods tables due to influx of donations
  • "CHAZ People's Library" changes name to "Anti-racist Library"
  • The Communications Project (effort to connect people with reliable organizations) sets up tent (one day only)
  • Buskers & more local businesses with free food appear
  • Music/radio set up in Cal Anderson Park
  • "Pay the Fee" Tiny Library opens in playfield
  • "Register to Vote" booth set up by precinct
  • People begin queueing to climb ladder to roof on the side of Rhino Room building
  • Chaplain booth moves from 12th/Pine to across from precinct
  • Medical tent in playfield expands to coordinate donation drop-offs and serve food
  • Community garden adds two plots; Transplant Plant Station set up
  • "Things We Learned" board set up by zines table
  • 9:30 p.m. – Teach-in & speakers in Cal Anderson Park
  • 11:30 p.m. – Attempted removal of sign on 12th/Pine info
Saturday 6/13
  • 1:30 a.m. – Car drives through barricade at 10th and down Pine, no injuries
  • Early morning – Central "CHAZ" graffiti changed to say "CHOP" following previous discussions to "rebrand" to focus on "occupancy/organized protest" aspects
  • "Autonomous Zone" on signs and "CHAZ" graffiti on barricades and elsewhere covered up with gray paint
  • 11th & Pine wall painted with yellow designs over tri-color stripes
  • Western barricades removed, replaced with planters (to give fire department emergency access)
  • No Cop Co-op expands past sidewalk onto 11th Ave., with growing storage via tents at the back
  • "Register to Vote" booth moves across the street with a full tent; chaplain booth moves downhill/westward
  • Community garden gets straw down & chicken wire up surrounding plots
  • "Write to the Mayor" booth set up downhill from precinct
  • Conversation Café expands to take up width of 11th; DSA booth moves to other side of coffee stand/tent
  • Handwashing station set up next to food tent on 12th/Pine
  • Free clothing tent set up in NE corner playfield
  • "Riot Kitchen" tent offering free hot meals set up between gardens and playfield (by toilet buildings) in park info
  • 2 p.m. – Welcome sign by precinct at 12th/Pine removed info
  • 2 p.m. – "Black is Beautiful: Femme" discussion & storytelling at 12th/Pine livestream (mirror)
  • 2 p.m. – Street preacher returns and is removed by crowd info
  • 5 p.m. – Town hall, including breakout sessions to discuss long & short term goals
  • 6:30 p.m. – A group carring American flags walks through the area with commotion info video
  • 7:40 p.m. – Roof/ladder declared off-limits as building owner threatens to get Co-op "shut down" if climbing continues
  • 9:15 p.m. – Music; tent & lights added to temporary stage on 12th/Pine
Sunday 6/14
  • No Cop Co-op expands across entirety of 11th Ave. with separate tent for drop-off donations, shelves, and a grill
  • New "Welcome to CHOP" posters hung on outside of main barricades/entrances
  • 11th & Pine wall painted with white fan shapes over yellow designs
  • Security coordination tent set up next to SE corner of 11th/Pine
  • "Pay the Fee" Tiny Library moves next to Conversation Café
  • "Conversation Café" rebranded to "Decolonization Conversation Café"
  • Charleena Lyles memorial set up next to zines table
  • Washington state black lives memorial set up by precinct on 12th Ave.
  • Voter registration tent set up next to Rejuvination Station in playfield
  • To-be-opened Health Justice Space set up next to People's Community Clinic
  • Dog food available in front of security tent
  • 20 planter boxes constructed in community garden
  • Ben & Jerry's food truck sets up on 11th in daytime for free ice cream
  • 1:30 p.m. – Native American heritage celebration; Salish tipi set up around 12th/Pine plaza video
  • 2/4/7 p.m. - "Resilience practice" (yoga) in north Cal Anderson Park, focusing on movement, stillness and voice
  • 4 p.m. – "This Ain't a Picnic: A Musical, Educational Sit-in" followed by open mic in 12th/Pine plaza
  • 8 p.m. – Music in 12th/Pine plaza
  • 9 p.m. – Basic self-defense course near Co-op; tipi moved to north playfield (one day only)
— Timeline below focuses only on the physical space; not all events are tracked —
Monday 6/15
  • "Tunnel" set up underneath still-expanding Co-op tents for easier access to George Floyd/BLM memorial
  • Community garden irrigation & greenhouse projects started
  • Health Justice Space moved to park & opened
Tuesday 6/16
  • 9:45 a.m. – SDOT begins to put up concrete + wooden block barriers in attempt to restore one lane of traffic and reduce size of zone info 1, 2, 3, 4
  • 2:30 p.m. – No Cop Co-op begins to move to 11th/Pike (not due to city/county request); never completed (see Wednesday update)
  • 6:30 p.m. – General assembly in Cal Anderson Park (planned daily; new time)
  • 9:15 p.m. – Attempted manual installation of BLM raised fist sculpture behind Cal Anderson Park Reflecting Pool info
Wednesday 6/17
  • 3 a.m. – No Cop Co-op disbands due to internal conflict. Supplies currently split between 11th/Pike and the precinct building entrance. (Organizer who calls herself "Mama Bird" attempts to dismantle & move the Co-op to 11th/Pike overnight – perhaps at request of Rhino Room/Rancho Bravo Tacos – with hazardous materials and food left out, leaving the task uncompleted. After behaving erratically and abusively toward volunteers all week, volunteers occupy the space in the morning & deny her entry; she accuses them of being "looters" who are taking "her property." Volunteers plan to set up new Co-op in front of precinct without her.) info 1, 2, 3
  • "Things We Learned" board moved to other side of street, leaning against bus stop
  • 2:30 p.m. – Town hall & "character check" meeting livestream
  • 5:15 p.m. – SPOG Out! rally & general assembly in Cal Anderson Park livestream
  • 9:30 p.m. – BLM raised fist sculpture installed via crane in corner of Bobby Morris Playfield
Thursday 6/18
  • (yet to update)
Friday 6/19
  • 8 a.m. – Juneteenth Blackout (all day) info

Please email (at bottom) for any additions or corrections.

Links




disclaimer
This website is not associated with any "organizers," "members," "residents," or other people involved with either the coordination of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, nor with the City of Seattle. This site is intended to document and culturally preserve the creation, history, and spread of local and national news about the designated area and surrounding efforts of community organizing. We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and support the call to #DefundSPD.
Contact: CHAZ.zone@protonmail.com.