Rather than focus on the radical and dangerous nature of protesters taking over and occupying a section of Seattle, CBS This Morning on Friday instead highlighted the “street fair-like atmosphere,” including “art displays and “outdoor movies.” (Sounds like a nice place to go shopping.)
Co-host Gayle King began, “The President is still pushing Seattle's mayor to reclaim a neighborhood that protesters have turned into a, quote, ‘cop-free zone.’” Reporter Anna Werner tried to describe the situation as much better now: “After multiple nights of violent clashes, police in a show of de-escalating tensions in the Capitol Hill district boarded up their station and left. Now the area called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, is controlled by mostly peaceful protesters.”
It was then that Werner described the occupied neighborhood as a place you might like to take the family for an evening out: “The autonomous zone has turned into an almost street fair-like atmosphere with free food, art displays, and outdoor movie nights.” She then, finally, hinted at the problems: “But there have been some reports of armed people patrolling the street in lieu of police. Demonstrators have renamed the building the Seattle People’s Department.”
That’s one way to put it. In addition to having “assault rifles” (according to one report), they also have stated goals such as this: “Abolish the Seattle Police Department and the court system, disarm all cops until they are all fired, and abolish youth jails.”
But much better to focus on what they’ll show next at outdoor movie night? On Thursday night, all three networks downplayed the radical and dangerous nature of this situation in Seattle.
A transcript of the segment is below. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS This Morning
6/12/2020
7:10:43 to 7:12:56
GAYLE KING: The President is still pushing Seattle's mayor to reclaim a neighborhood that protesters have turned into a, quote, “cop-free zone.” Police abandoned the precinct after there on Monday after the area became a hotbed for demonstrations over the death of George Floyd. Anna Werner has more on the city's response to the protest.
ANNA WERNER: Mayor Jenny Durkan fired back at President Trump's warning that he would send troops to Seattle.
SEATTLE MAYOR JENNY DURKAN: The threat to invade Seattle, to divide and incite violence in our city, is not only unwelcome, it would be illegal.
WERNER: Still, the president continued his complaints.
DONALD TRUMP: If we have to go in, we're going to go in. These people are not going to occupy a major portion of a great city.
WERNER: After multiple nights of violent clashes, police in a show of de-escalating tensions in the Capitol Hill district boarded up their station and left. Now the area called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, is controlled by mostly peaceful protesters. Activists have camped out, vowing to stay unless their demands which Thursday defunding the police and racial equality, are met. In a video message, Seattle's chief of police Carmen Best said she did not officer orders and personnel to abandon the city's east precinct after several days of unrest.
CHIEF OF POLICE CARMEN BEST: Ultimately, the city had other plans for the building and relented to severe public pressure. We're going to evaluate and see what the viability is of bringing the officers in. So there's no plan to do that at this moment.
WERNER: The autonomous zone has turned into an almost street fair-like atmosphere with free food, art displays, and outdoor movie nights. But there have been some reports of armed people patrolling the street in lieu of police. Demonstrators have renamed the building the Seattle People’s Department.
MAN: This is also our building as we pay for this and we pay for their works. And everything they do is supposed to benefit the people.
WERNER: And many say they have no plans to leave.
SECOND MAN: We're not stopping these guys from going to work, but we will occupy the space for the best of our ability utilizing our rights.
WERNER: For CBS This Morning, Anna Werner, San Francisco.
