Thread by @ByMikeBaker

I am getting a ton of messages about supposed reports of businesses extorted in the autonomous zone. The storyline has floated up to cable news as an example of chaos.

The reports are alarming, so I’ve been chasing them and wanted to update folks... 1/
nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/…

The claim got promoted by the Seattle Police Department as something they had heard. Police Chief Best mentioned it, without evidence, as a “report” that people “may be demanding payment” in exchange for protection.

Chief Best now says those reports came from anecdotes circulating on places like social media. She said nobody had actually made a complaint about the issue to the Police Department.

It appears the claim first surfaced as a comment on a neighborhood blog late on Tuesday night. I checked with the Capitol Hill Business Alliance. They have been talking to businesses in the area and said they haven’t found any with concerns about extortion.

In my experience down in the zone, there was no sign of looting or businesses being targeted. People encouraged visitors to frequent the neighboring businesses. A hot dog stand had set up shop on the corner.

One business owner told The Seattle Times that when he arrived at the zone, he didn’t encounter any extortion but did receive an offer of a free bagel-and-cheese sandwich.
seattletimes.com/seattle-news/s…

None of this is to say some sort of extortion didn’t happen. I’m still checking around.

If you know of anything like that or other troubling activity, get in touch. I’m going to be keeping an eye how things progress in the autonomous zone, so I’d welcome any tips.

I'm reposting this one at the end because I am terrible at Twitter threads and somehow put this one outside the main thread

https://twitter.com/ByMikeBaker/status/1271238415233646593?s=19