The extremist militants that claimed a part of Seattle as their own country in the name of Black Lives Matter were finally dismantled by the police on Wednesday. The cost? Three weeks of chaos, crime, and the lives of two black teenagers. And as NewsBusters has extensively documented, those black lives didn’t matter to the folks at ABC, CBS, and NBC since they covered up those killings and downplayed the camp's radical nature. They were forced to address it with the toppling of the so-called “Capital Hill Occupy Protest” (formerly CHAZ).
For over a week people have been getting shot and killed in the “autonomous zone,” but it was the first time that CBS News had ever covered them. “For weeks, President Trump had demanded Seattle take back a section of that city occupied by groups protesting police brutality,” fill-in anchor Major Garrett prefaced on CBS Evening News. “Today, after an accumulating number of acts of violence including deadly shootings, the mayor ordered Seattle police to take action.”
At no point did CBS nor any network mention that the two victims were black teens (Lorenzo Anderson, 19 and Antonio Mays Jr., 16). So, much for black lives matter.
“Police in riot gear moved in at dawn ordering protestors to move out. Those that resisted were handcuffed. More than 30 arrested, their tents torn down and removed,” gawked CBS correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti. He later noted: “The nearly month-long occupation of Seattle's Capital Hill came to an abrupt end after a series of shootings killed at least two people.”
The faux bewilderment at the actions of the Seattle Police Department was a constant throughout all of the evening newscasts. Not surprising since they originally gaslit their audiences on June 11 with flowery coverage of the radicals.
“Dozens under arrest in Seattle this evening after the mayor ordered police to clear out several downtown blocks occupied by protesters for weeks. Our Steve Patterson is there. Steve, this has been moving very quickly today,” NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt marveled.
After noting that the camp existed for three weeks and was taken down in less than a day with 30 arrests made, Patterson noted that “The mayor is facing intense backlash for not moving in sooner.” He added: “The police chief had called CHOP lawless and brutal after a series of shootings where two teenagers were killed.”
What Patterson and the other so-called journalists intentionally covered up was the fact that residents and local businesses in the Capital Hill neighborhood were actively suing the city in a class-action lawsuit. A lawsuit the networks had been blacking out since June 25. The lawsuit said the city’s surrender to CHOP put their lives and businesses in danger.
None of the networks cared to explain to viewers why this was the first time they were hearing about the violence and killings on air.
ABC’s World News Tonight did mention the first killing (and failed to mention the teen’s race) on June 21, but quickly dropped the topic until July 1’s crackdown. “We move on now to the police crackdown in Seattle. Officers today clearing out the CHOP zone, arresting dozens of protesters occupying the area for weeks,” announced fill-in anchor Tom Llamas with no excuse for why they ignored the other shootings.
“Police reclaiming their precinct in the area that saw crime skyrocket by more than 500 percent and two teens fatally shot. Protesters blocking police from responding to at least one of those deadly incidents,” reported correspondent Janai Norman.
Effetely celebrating chaos, Norman ended her report by touting how similar radicals encamped in New York City got their wish of cutting $1 billion from the NYPD’s budget.
The networks’ enabling of death in the streets was sponsored by Prevagen on ABC, Capital One on CBS, and Hyundai on NBC. Their contact information is linked.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
July 1, 2020
7:45:17 p.m. EasternTOM LLAMAS: We move on now to the police crackdown in Seattle. Officers today clearing out the CHOP zone, arresting dozens of protesters occupying the area for weeks. And in New York City, officers moving in on demonstrators call to defund the police. Here's ABC's Janai Norman.
[Cuts to video]
JANAI NORMAN: Tonight, officers in riot gear swarming Seattle's occupied protest zone.
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER [via megaphone]: Disperse southbound on 12th Avenue or you will be arrested.
NORMAN: Clashing with protesters as they cleared out tents, arresting more than 30 people. More than three weeks after protesters seized the six-block area. Police reclaiming their precinct in the area that saw crime skyrocket by more than 500 percent and two teens fatally shot. Protesters blocking police from responding to at least one of those deadly incidents.
POLICE CHIEF CARMEN BEST: Our job is to support peaceful demonstrations, but what has happened here on these streets is lawless and it's brutal and bottom line, it is simply unacceptable.
NORMAN: Across the country, police in New York City moving in on demonstrators calling to defund the police, captured in this dailymail.com video. Those protesters camped out by City Hall for more than a week. Hours earlier, the city's council voting to slash the NYPD's budget by $1 billion.
COREY JOHNSON (city councilman): I wanted us to go deeper. I wanted us to take larger headcount reductions. I wanted a true hiring freeze. This is the beginning.
NORMAN: But the shootings in the city up by 40 percent from this time last year. The NYPD commissioner warning, this is not the answer.
DERMOT SHEA (NYPD commissioner): The city council bowed to mob rule. And let's mark the date on the calendar and how long it's going to be before we're having a conversation about New Yorkers crying out for more police.
[Cuts to video]
NORMAN: And Tom, you can still see this whole encampment behind me where protesters continue to gather. And despite this crowd, many have actually taken off after reaching their primary goal of seeing the NYPD's budget cut by $1 billion. Tom?
LLAMAS: Okay, Janai. Thank you for that.
CBS Evening News
July 1, 2020
6:42:11 p.m. EasternMAJOR GARRETT: For weeks, President Trump had demanded Seattle take back a section of that city occupied by groups protesting police brutality. Today, after an accumulating number of acts of violence including deadly shootings, the mayor ordered Seattle police to take action. CBS's Jonathan Vigliotti on how it all played out.
[Cuts to video]
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER (via megaphone): You have five minutes to disperse.
JONATHAN VIGLIOTTI: Police in riot gear moved in at dawn ordering protestors to move out. Those that resisted were handcuffed. More than 30 arrested, their tents torn down and removed.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: CHOP is not one spot. It’s the people. It’s is the heart of this movement.
VIGLIOTTI: The nearly month-long occupation of Seattle's Capital Hill came to an abrupt end after a series of shootings killed at least two people. Seattle's mayor issuing an emergency order overnight giving police the green light to move in.
POLICE CHIEF CARMEN BEST: What has happened here, on these streets is lawless, and it's brutal and bottom line, it is simply unacceptable.
VIGLIOTTI: Protestors demanding to get rid of the police department pushed officers out of their own precinct after a week-long standoff, igniting anger on President Trump who called the demonstrators “anarchists” and threatened to send in troops.
Today the police chief pushed to the breaking point.
BEST: Black lives matter. And I too want to help propel this movement forward, but enough is enough.
VIGLIOTTI: Enough for now, but protestors are already promising to set up camp somewhere else. Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News.
NBC Nightly News
July 1, 2020
7:12:46 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Dozens under arrest in Seattle this evening after the mayor ordered police to clear out several downtown blocks occupied by protesters for weeks. Our Steve Patterson is there. Steve, this has been moving very quickly today.
STEVE PATTERSON: Lester, protesters held this six-block area for more than three weeks. Yet, their encampment was dismantled in less than a day. This morning, the mayor, Jenny Durkan ordered officers to re-take the self-styled Capital Hill Protest Zone. There were 30 arrests but little in the way of violence.
CHOP was created when the city ordered officers to abandon the east precinct on June 8th. Protesters declaring it a police-free zone. The mayor is facing intense backlash for not moving in sooner. The police chief had called CHOP lawless and brutal after a series of shootings where two teenagers were killed.
Tonight, protesters say they plan to march across the city with police bracing for any signs of retaliation. Lester?
HOLT: Steve Patterson in Seattle tonight, thanks.
