Citizens, or perhaps private police, of The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone were caught on video physically removing a man preaching tenants of Christianity, putting him in a choke hold, taking him to the ground, and then dragging him along the ground.
The preacher, dubbed by The Post Millennial as an “unwanted immigrant” is shown in a short clip being swarmed by several citizens of CHAZ, who made it clear to the preacher that his presence was not wanted, through the use of force.
The preacher briefly frees himself to repeatedly yell, “this is Christ’s zone,” before adding, “this is a Christian zone, for Jesus Christ.”
A handful of the anarchists then slowly dragged the man out as a woman berates him.
The anarchists in CHAZ didn't appreciate the presence of a Christian preacher so they choked him out. https://t.co/R59cFdTqw8
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 13, 2020
While it is unclear if this is the incident in question, when National File reported on a CHAZ timeline that tracks the victories of the newly founded zone, part of the timeline read “Christian proselytizers cause disruption in 11th/Pine plaza” on Thursday, June 11.
At press time, the CHAZ timeline has been amended to read “Street preachers cause disruption in 11th/Pine plaza.”
On Saturday, June 13, another entry to the timeline suggests this forced deportation may have involved a “street preacher” who visited in June 11. It reads, “Street preacher returns and is removed by crowd.” There is a link to a tweet of the incident provided.
In the tweet linked to by the CHAZ timeline, reporter Julio Rosas of Town Hall, writes that that in the ensuing scuffle, a masked man “tried to block my phone from recording the incident.”
A scuffle broke out in the zone after a man came around screaming that this is a “Christ Zone.” A masked guy then tried to block my phone from recording the incident. pic.twitter.com/Z0XU8ZZyhw
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) June 13, 2020
The clip circulated social media after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called the zone peaceful and told President Donald Trump that it would be “illegal” and “unconstitutional” to clear out the autonomous zone using the military.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best reported that 911 calls for violent crimes within the zone tripled since the precinct was temporarily during the George Floyd riots to quell tensions.
The autonomous zone continues to break headlines and stir controversy.
This article was updated to reflect that Rosas now works for Town Hall.
