A “memorial garden” set up in Seattle during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots of 2020 in the deadly Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, better known as CHAZ, which was claimed by Antifa activists, has finally been removed by city officials citing rampant drug use and health concerns.
In 2020, armed Antifa and BLM rioters occupied 6 square blocks of the downtown Seattle neighborhood, using weapons and the threat of further violence to prevent city officials or unwanted individuals from entering the “autonomous zone.”
On Wednesday, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, working alongside police officers, removed remains of the “makeshift” garden in Cal Anderson Park, which was within formerly occupied CHAZ, and was meant to memorialize “BIPOC” (black, indigenous, and other people of color) individuals who died as a result of “police violence.” Officials said that the garden was removed “due to public health and public safety issues and the need for maintenance, including reseeding the area and turf restoration.”
Following the brief, although deadly, 24-day occupation, several liberal-owned businesses in CHAZ, that previously banned officers from entering the establishments, eventually filed a lawsuit against the city for revenue lost due to the autonomous zone.
“In the early days of the occupation,” political commentator Ari Hoffman wrote, a “prolific offender with dozens of felony convictions” named Travis Berge was videoed “creating the garden while challenging activists to mortal combat.” Berge appeared to be under the influence of controlled substances in the footage which has since been widely shared on social media.
It was later reported that Berge allegedly murdered his then-girlfriend in Cal Anderson Park and was found by a SWAT team “dead at the bottom of a 10-foot tank filled with a bleach solution” according to Andy Ngo.
The deadly, uncontrolled zone was a hotspot for violence, and even after its disbandment, Cal Anderson Park remained a breeding ground for homeless encampments, drug use, and an “increasing rodent population,” according to Fox News. The outlet reported that in 2023 alone, the City’s Unified Care Team has “cleaned up encampments at Cal Anderson Park 76 times, making the park one of the most frequently addressed areas in the city for repopulated encampments.”
Despite the garden and autonomous zone being claimed without city approval, Seattle officials say that they remain “committed to an ongoing dialogue to produce an alternative garden site.”
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
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