The following article was adapted from a segment of Monday’s episode of The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI and reflects the author’s opinion.
In the summer of 2020, Seattle found itself at the epicenter of what Democratic officials claimed was a peaceful movement for justice and reform. Instead, it spiraled into chaos. What some labeled the “Summer of Love” quickly devolved into lawlessness, violence, and tragedy. Now, in a baffling twist, the city of Seattle plans to memorialize it.
Yes, you read that right. The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation is working on an art installation to commemorate the Black Lives Matter riots at Cal Anderson Park—the site of the infamous Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), later renamed the Capitol Hill Occupied protest (CHOP), where people were shot, injured, and even killed. Officials claim their plan is to “commemorate the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, honor Seattle’s Black and BIPOC communities, and memorialize those lost to gun violence.”
Seattle is planning an art installation to memorialize the BLM riots
Seattle has "a $300 million dollar budget gap & they want to spend money on a memorial for the 'autonomus zone?' It was a colossal disaster & an embarrassment on the world stage & you want memorialize that?" pic.twitter.com/TV1y5cLsIO
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) April 8, 2025
The new art installation, still in its “incubation” phase, is being developed with the Vivid Matters Collective—the same group that helped maintain the Black Lives Matter mural on E. Pine Street. According to Seattle Parks, the project will be co-created with community input “to ensure that those most impacted by the events and themes of this installation have a voice.” The city says the project will “provide a space for reflection, solidarity, and continued advocacy for racial justice.” Funding hasn’t been secured yet, but the city hopes to pay for the installation through grants and “other opportunities.”
This follows the city’s removal of the unsanctioned Black Lives Memorial Garden in 2023—an attempt to clean up one of the last relics of the CHOP occupation. That “garden” was a hub for vandalism, drug use, and squatting. Even Seattle Parks admitted that their repeated attempts to memorialize the zone had been met with skepticism due to the high rate of vandalism and other public safety concerns.
Let’s not rewrite history. The CHAZ was not a peaceful utopia. It was a zone of lawlessness that resulted in six shootings, two fatalities, and millions of dollars in property damage. The city’s leadership, including then-Mayor Jenny Durkan and Police Chief Carmen Best, made the astonishing decision to abandon the East Precinct to protesters. Overnight, rioters took control of a six-block area, erecting barricades and declaring it a police-free “autonomous zone.” Armed Antifa and BLM activists set themselves up as the new authority. Police were barred from entering. What followed was predictable: crime soared, with rape, robbery, arson, extortion, and two murders occurring during the occupation. According to one lawsuit, crime levels in the area doubled while police were ordered to stand down.
Six people were shot. Two died; both were black teens, one whose grieving father is now petitioning Congress for an inquiry into his son’s death. The city spent additional millions responding to the chaos, and more than 100 police officers were injured during the riots. Seattle, meanwhile, has settled millions in legal claims from families of victims and devastated local businesses.
This is the moment Seattle wants to commemorate? This wasn’t progress—it was a colossal failure.
Seattle is now facing a nearly $300 million budget shortfall, yet city officials think it’s a good idea to pour money into an installation honoring the most turbulent and damaging period in recent city history. If the city truly wants to reflect on what happened, then why not create a memorial for the victims? Why not honor the lives lost, instead of romanticizing the anarchy?
Take a look at past examples. The city spent $40,000 on a “Black Lives Matter” mural painted in front of City Hall—visible only to those working inside the building. What should have been a public statement became a performative gesture, easily overlooked and literally walked on.
Yet, here we are again—pouring energy into a tribute for a time marked by government failure and violence.
And what’s next? Reinstalling the so-called “BLM Garden” that yielded little more than a few scraggly leaves? Bringing back the graffiti-covered barricades and antisemitic imagery that marred public spaces? Rebuilding the protester armory used to stockpile homemade weapons? This isn’t remembrance. It’s delusion.
One cannot help but see the irony in memorializing the very symbols of destruction. What message does it send to honor the scene of a failed social experiment while ignoring its victims? What exactly are we celebrating?
And let’s not forget the broader damage. The police precinct was abandoned. The National Guard wasn’t called in. The city government chose optics over order, leading to chaos that echoed across the country and even overseas. My own uncle—an ultra-Orthodox Jew with no internet and only a Yiddish newspaper—called me from Israel asking if terrorists had taken over my neighborhood. That’s how bad it looked to the outside world.
The CHAZ and the riots were not moments of triumph. They were moments of surrender—of leadership, law, and safety. They exposed the city’s failure to protect its residents and uphold its responsibilities. To now treat this disaster as something noble and worthy of enshrinement is not just misguided—it’s offensive.
Commemoration without context is propaganda. The CHAZ/CHOP was not a peaceful protest. It was an armed occupation that endangered lives and paralyzed a neighborhood. Let’s not pretend that the ideals of ‘racial justice’ were realized—or even respected—during the chaos that unfolded in Capitol Hill.
We don’t need a monument to a failed revolution. We need accountability. We need priorities that reflect the real needs of this city. And above all, we need to stop confusing chaos for courage. The memory of 2020 deserves honesty—not glorification. This is revisionist history dressed up as public art and social justice.
Listen to The Ari Hoffman Show 3-6 pm Pacific on Talk Radio 570 KVI.
