How Antifa-Affiliated Activists Are Controlling A Seattle Neighborhood

Christopher Rufo is a contributing editor for the City Journal, as well as director of the Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth & Poverty. He's also directed four documentaries for PBS, including his latest film called America Lost.

But Rufo's most recent published article in the City Journal focuses on recent activism in Seattle. More specifically, the work of those activists affiliated with Antifa. Rufo dives deep into how a "hard-Left secessionist movement" has been taking over certain neighborhoods in Seattle for the past week.

According to Rufo, "Black Lives Matter and Antifa-affiliated activists have engaged in a pitched battle with Seattle police officers and National Guard soldiers in the neighborhood, with the heaviest conflict occurring at the intersection of 11th and Pike, where law enforcement had constructed a barricade to defend the Seattle Police East Precinct building."

And how did the City of Seattle respond? Rufo said the city government decided to just surrender the area to the protestors...

"The city government has not developed a strategic response to the takeover of Capitol Hill," he wrote. "According to one Seattle police officer with knowledge of internal deliberations, the city’s “leadership is in chaos” and “the mayor has made the decision to let a mob of 1,000 people dictate public safety policy for a city of 750,000.”

According to Rufo, this 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' does nothing but set a dangerous precedent for the city, as "armed left-wing activists have asserted their dominance of the streets and established an alternative political authority over a large section of a neighborhood."

"Rather than enforce the law, Seattle’s progressive political class capitulated to the mob and will likely make massive concessions over the next few months," Rufo added. "This will embolden the Antifa coalition—and further undermine the rule of law in American cities."

Click here to read Rufo's full article, 'Anarchy in Seattle'.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content