The Trump administration on Monday declared that U.S. Attorney General William Barr has the power to label any city in the United States an \u201canarchist jurisdiction\u201d based on any factors he \u201cdeems appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barr applied the label to Seattle on Monday, saying that the six-block Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) area, which was cleared nearly three months ago, has pushed the entire city into the realm of anarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barr also labeled New York City and Portland \u201cjurisdictions permitting violence and destruction of property,\u201d citing local efforts to cut police department budgets in New York and the weeks of often violent protests in Portland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The designations come as President Donald Trump has increasingly seized on this summer\u2019s protests against police brutality and systemic racism as fuel for his reelection campaign<\/a>. He\u2019s pounced on images of property destruction and violence from some of the protests, warning ominously that the clashes happening under his watch are a harbinger of what\u2019s to come in \u201cJoe Biden\u2019s America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moves could also be the first step in a push by the administration to cut federal funding to the cities, all of which have opposed Trump politically. Earlier in his administration, Trump attempted to cut federal funding to so-called \u201csanctuary cities,\u201d like Seattle, which largely refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Those defunding efforts have largely been blocked by courts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, in a statement, said Monday her office would be staying focused on the city\u2019s four crises: The coronavirus pandemic, the economic downturn, \u201cthe greatest civil rights reckoning in decades\u201d and climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s threats to defund Seattle, Portland, and New York are a gross misuse of federal power and blatantly unlawful,\u201d Durkan said. \u201cTrump, the Department of Justice, and Barr\u2019s obsession with Seattle and me is irrational and most importantly, a huge distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said his office has filed 20 felony charges related to this summer\u2019s protests and that four cases now being handled by federal prosecutors were first filed by his office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis allegation suggests that laws are not being enforced in King County, which could not be further from the truth,\u201d Satterberg said. \u201cThis official DOJ designation seems more of a political statement than a factual one, and we were never contacted by them for any actual data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that his office is \u201creviewing the legality and the implications of this action by the Trump Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Department, in a news release, listed several criteria that, in its estimation, make a city \u201canarchist.\u201d Those include defunding police departments and refusing to accept the offer of federal agents from the Trump administration. They also include: \u201cAny other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Seattle\u2019s case, the Justice Department cited the CHOP area, which was cleared in early July after about three weeks when, following days of often hostile clashes between police and protesters, Seattle police largely abandoned a six-block area. At least two people were killed in or near the CHOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Department cited Durkan\u2019s own order<\/a>, that she issued when CHOP was cleared, which said \u201cperson-related crime\u201d had increased 525% in the area compared to the same period in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Department also said the city \u201crefused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities,\u201d even though the city had cleared the CHOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, accused the Trump administration of \u201cfearmongering and fanning racism\u201d to turn people\u2019s attention away from the coronavirus pandemic and the economic destruction it has wrought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow, the Trump Administration is doubling down on its politicized attacks by threatening our federal funding altogether,\u201d Jayapal said in a statement. \u201cThis is not just unlawful but it is also a prime example of this president\u2019s failed leadership and obvious desperation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Barr was \u201ccreating false narratives to score political points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAttorney General Barr should be doing his day job and upholding the civil liberties of Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, disabled Americans, and all others,\u201d Cantwell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new designations come after Trump issued a memorandum earlier this month<\/a> instructing that federal funds should \u201cto the maximum extent permitted by law\u201d not go to cities his administration labels \u201canarchist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the latest attempt by the administration to restrict federal funding from going to largely Democratic-run cities whose policies the president disagrees with. Trump has, since the earliest days of his administration<\/a>, sought to block federal funding from going to cities that don\u2019t cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n