Amid escalating violence in the Pacific Northwest, and continuing civil unrest throughout the United States, video was captured on Monday night appearing to show Antifa rioters in Seattle, Washington hurl Molotov cocktails over a defensive barrier and at police officers standing on the other side.
As protests and riots continue near Seattle’s East Precinct, the area that was illegally occupied by rioters and briefly transformed into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, an individual was seen appearing to throw Molotov cocktails at police standing behind a defensive barrier installed to keep rioters from storming or damaging the police building.
Rioters first began to converge on the area with piles of garbage, hurling it over the fence, along with loose pieces of trash and bottles. Within seconds, a bottle is set on fire and hurled over the fence, crashing with the characteristic fire ball.
The crowd began moving away from the area, only for a second Molotov cocktail to be thrown. Though the crowd continued leaving the immediate area, many members cheered loudly when the second bottle crashed into the police precinct.
Some sort of molotov device thrown at the SPD east precinct in #Seattle pic.twitter.com/kW0QueKVu0
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 2, 2020
Some believe graffiti left at the scene suggests the rioters were acting in retaliation to a sweep of Cal Anderson Park, the same park that was considered a key housing area for both CHAZ residents and the homeless during the occupation. CHAZ guards routinely denied media and individuals the ability to film in the park. Police were seen patrolling the park into the evening.
SPD keeps circling Cal Anderson park, people in the streets (including what looks like young girls with hula hoops?) trying to provoke a reaction #Seattle pic.twitter.com/G4ZkESPz2Y
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 2, 2020
Much of the Capitol Hill area in downtown Seattle outside the East Precinct building has been the scene of ongoing protests, riots, and looting since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this year. This building, seen in the videos, was once a central part of CHAZ.
After several shootings in CHAZ, as well as reports of private police extorting business owners for protection, police recaptured the area on July 1 after 22 days of occupation.
