The police deployed on Wednesday in a district of the American city of Seattle transformed into an “autonomous zone” by demonstrators protesting against the abuses of the police.
At least 31 people were arrested during the evacuation operation, in particular for refusing to comply, assault or possession of a cold weapon, reported the police of this metropolis of the North-West of the United States.
The occupation of the area for three weeks by overwhelmingly peaceful protesters angered President Donald Trump, who had threatened to use force against those he called “awful anarchists” and “interior terrorists” .
Evacuation
But it was ultimately the Democratic Mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, who took the initiative to evacuate the protesters, ensuring that the city had sufficiently offered protesters the right to express their opinion.
This freedom of expression “does not oblige the city to offer an unlimited sanctuary resulting in the occupation of public property, damage to the city and private property, attacks on the right to move and the creation of dangerous conditions “, justified the mayor.
“Too much is too much,” said Carmen Best, who heads the Seattle police, recalling that the area had been the scene of gunfire.
The police in riot gear intervened in the early morning, evacuating the six blocks from the buildings concerned. They dismantled the tents and barricades erected in this self-proclaimed “CHAZ” district, acronym for “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone”.
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