‘We could have the summer of love!’: Seattle mayor says she doesn’t know when CHAZ occupation will conclude

The mayor of Seattle has no idea when the protesters occupying the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” or CHAZ, in her city will disperse.

During an interview with CNN host Chris Cuomo, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan jokingly stated that the area could hold a “summer of love,” alluding to a mass gathering of peace activists in 1967 in San Francisco.

“How long do you think Seattle and those few blocks looks like this?” Cuomo asked.

“I don’t know. We could have a summer of love!” Durkan responded.

“Well, tell that to the police who are supposed to be in that precinct, though. But I understand your sentiment, Mayor,” Cuomo quipped, prompting Durkan to say the police will be monitoring the area and ensuring public safety.

CHAZ is currently located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill District, surrounding the city’s east police department precinct. One sign along the area’s borders reads: “You are now leaving the USA.” Occupants of the area have published 30 demands to Seattle’s government before dispersing from the area, which include the dismantlement of the police department, the abolition of imprisonment, free public housing, and socialized healthcare.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said he spoke with Durkan about the situation, calling the occupation “largely peaceful” and “fundamentally American.”

“I spoke with @MayorJenny and her team about the situation on Capitol Hill. Although unpermitted, and we should remember we are still in a pandemic, the area is largely peaceful. Peaceful protests are fundamentally American, and I am hopeful there will be a peaceful resolution,” Inslee tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Durkan took shots at President Trump, who demanded law enforcement to disperse occupants from the zone, and also referred to it as a “peaceful expression of our community’s collective grief and their desire to build a better world.”

“The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone #CHAZ is not a lawless wasteland of anarchist insurrection — it is a peaceful expression of our community’s collective grief and their desire to build a better world. Given his track record, it’s not hard to believe that Trump is wrong, yet again,” Durkan said on Twitter. “For the thousands of individuals who have been on Capitol Hill, I think you’ve seen what I’ve seen: The painting of Black Lives Matter along Pine Street, food trucks, spaghetti potlucks, teach-ins, and movies.”