Jason Chaffetz: Seattle officials are negotiating with 'domestic terrorists'
Jason Chaffetz weighs in on reports Seattle officials and protesters have reached an agreement on reducing the occupied zone
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz said on Tuesday that the Seattle protesters who occupied several blocks of public property, blocking the space from others, amount to “domestic terrorists.”
“I think what the people are doing there is not just protesting. It’s not peacefully assembling,” the former Utah representative told “Outnumbered Overtime.”
Chaffetz said that President Trump intervening in the protests is not warranted unless there is a federal level crime being committed. Chaffetz also said that addressing the Seattle protest should be solely within the purview of the local, county, and state jurisdictions of Washington.
“I think it’s intimidation and I see a long list of violations of the law that are going on there. But, I don't think that it is the role of the federal government nor it is the role of the president to intervene unless there is some federal crime that is occurring,” Chaffetz said.
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL BANS POLICE USE OF CHOKEHOLDS, CROWD CONTROL DEVICES AMID PROTESTS
Chaffetz reacted to the city of Seattle and protesters occupying the “Capitol Hill Organized Protest,” or CHOP, reaching an agreement that will remove temporary roadblocks and replace them with concrete barriers, Fox News has been told.
The Seattle Department of Transportation is installing concrete barriers in the middle of Pine Street, running East and West, which will split the road for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. This will allow for emergency service vehicles to pass through the area.
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Chaffetz said that Washington officials are “negotiating with terrorists” and it is “wrong” for them to do so.
“I agree with it, but the citizens of the state of Washington are going to have to deal with it and I would not encourage, nor would I want to see the president using federal resources to do the job of what is supposed to happen locally.”
Fox News' Dan Springer, Jon Rule and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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