Free Republic

President Trump threatened to “take back” Seattle from protesters, tweeting that “ugly anarchists must be stooped.” In response, state and local politicians told him to go back to his bunker beneath the White House; and keep out of local business. Earlier this week, Seattle police left the area and demonstrators took over, cordoning off several blocks they declared the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone”, now the site of peaceful protests. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said the police pullback was done “to proactively de-escalate interactions between protestors and law enforcement.” But Trump was unhappy with the move even though it at least...

The nation's capital braced itself with members of the National Guard guarding famous landmarks and patrolling a new pedestrian-only demonstration area as streets were closed off. The White House remained a fortress, with black fences between seven and nine feet high erected around its perimeter cutting off protesters, as D.C.'s mayor formally renamed the street outside 'Black Lives Matter Plaza'. Streets were shut in downtown from 6am as the first of the dozens of demonstrations organized for the day began and the city's metro system announced it was reopening cars closed due to coronavirus to boost rider capacity.