The
Capitol Hill Occupied Protest or the
Capitol Hill Organized Protest (
CHOP), originally
Free Capitol Hill and later the
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (
CHAZ), was an occupation protest and self-declared autonomous zone in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The zone, originally covering six city blocks and Cal Anderson Park, was established on June 8, 2020, by George Floyd protesters after the Seattle Police Department (SPD) left its East Precinct building. The zone was cleared of occupants by police on July 1. Its formation was preceded by a week of tense interactions between protesters and police in riot gear which began on June 1 and escalated on June 7 after a man drove his vehicle into the crowd and shot a protester near 11th Avenue and Pine Street. Tear gas, flashbangs and pepper spray were used by police in the densely populated residential neighborhood. On June 7, the SPD reported that the crowd was throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks and shining green lasers into officers' eyes. The next day, police boarded up their building and moved out of the East Precinct in an effort to de-escalate the situation.