The protesters who created an “autonomous zone” in Seattle have hijacked the Black Lives Matter message, according to a community council that works to foster relationships between black residents and police in the city.
The group, the African American Community Advisory Council, visited the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone on Thursday — and were booed by the crowd there when they voiced support for black police officers, KOMO News reported.
“Black lives do matter but there are also black lives that are police lives,” one woman from the group said, according to the report. “They feel the same way that you do.”
“You guys need to sit down and have a conversation with the Seattle Police Department. They want to talk to you,” another woman from the group said.
She then accused the protesters of hijacking the message of Black Lives Matter in the city, according to the report.
“The thing is, you have hijacked this! You have taken the meaning away!”
The chair of the group, Victoria Beach, added to the news outlet that the so-called “autonomous zone” had the feel of a festival like Burning Man, rather than a protest for racial equality.
The six-block zone sprung up after police abandoned the East Precinct in the Capitol Hill section of the city amid clashes with protesters during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd.
Officers used tear gas, pepper spray and flash bangs over the weekend to disperse demonstrators they said were assaulting them with projectiles.
The building was shuttered on Monday, amid growing demands from the protesters.
Additional reporting by Tamar Lapin
