Photos: Final moments of the CHOP as police clear the area
"A lot of people think CHOP was a place," said organizer David Lewis to a group of other demonstrators at the intersection of Broadway and East Pine Street on Wednesday.
"Capitol Hill was just where this movement started," Lewis said. "We are CHOP. That is not CHOP."
For weeks, people have gathered in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone to demand an end to police brutality and the unjust killings of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
Early Wednesday morning, the Seattle Police Department, along with Bellevue police officers and local FBI officials forced protesters out of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone.
Under an executive order from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan following recent shootings in or near the CHOP zone that left two individuals dead, officers began clearing the area around 5 a.m. At least 30 people were arrested and more arrests were made that evening.
Below are scenes from the morning that the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone was cleared by police, Wednesday, July 1.