Rumors are circulating that Attorney General William Barr has asked federal prosecutors to investigate whether criminal charges should be filed against Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan for allowing the infamous "Capitol Hill Organized Protest" (CHOP) to occupy city streets for several weeks back in the summer.
The New York Times reported, as we also did, that Barr has supposedly been floating the idea of filing sedition charges against violent rioters, some of whom have clearly been coming from out of state to "hot" protest zones in order to commit acts of violence.
The Times contends that Barr "has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department's civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city's downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions."
While it would certainly mark a change in the administration's current policy to finally start going after those pretending to be protesters but engaging in domestic terrorism, a spokesman from the Department of Justice (DoJ) claims that Barr never issued any directive towards this end.
Brian T. Moran, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, also indicated in a statement that throughout "this lengthy period of civil unrest" he has had "multiple conversations with [DoJ] leadership." And at no time during these conversations has the suggestion been made that Durkan be pursued for criminal prosecution.
"As U.S. Attorney I would be aware of such an investigation," he stated plainly.
Republicans are all talk and no action
After learning about the rumors, Durkan herself tweeted that these unsubstantiated reports are "chilling." She added, as Democrats routinely do over such contentious matters, that it is just the latest example of "abuse of power from the Trump administration."
"This is not a story about me," she continued in a tweet. "It's about the (sic) how this President and his Attorney General are willing to subvert the law and use the DOJ for political purposes."
A former U.S. attorney herself, Durkan contends that because she "took an oath of office to protect the Constitution," her delayed response in dealing with the CHOP, which was essentially a war zone right in the middle of Seattle, is fully justified.
"I will continue to fight for what I believe is right, and I will not be distracted by these threats from meeting the challenges facing our great city: a pandemic, an economic crisis, a climate crisis, and a civil rights reckoning."
For the majority of its existence, Seattle's CHOP was both allowed and sanctioned by Durkan as an appropriate response to the death of George Floyd, or whatever the excuse was for all the assaults, rapes, robberies, shootings and murders that occurred within the borders of the CHOP.
As you may recall, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, whose hands were tied by Durkan, announced her retirement not long after the CHOP was formed, lamenting the fact that, at the time of her resignation, two black men were found dead in the area, along with "multiple other incidents" of violent crime.
When things became so out of control that the continued existence of CHOP could no longer be tolerated, Durkan reluctantly issued an executive order calling for it to finally be abolished. But we wonder: Why hasn't Durkan been prosecuted for allowing it to exist at all?
Barr, in lieu of actually doing something to hold Durkan and her fellow comrades accountable, has simply vocalized his opposition to the Democrat Party "not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts."
More of the latest news about the riots can be found at CivilWar.news.
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