Under threat of sweep, Seattle protesters defend houseless encampment at Cal Anderson Park

As Seattle police readied to clear Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, protesters also lined the park where a tent encampment has grown over the past few months.

But the police did not sweep the camp as expected.

The city on Monday posted notices about its plan to sweep the park, which stated the park was not an authorized area for storage or shelter. The park has been officially closed for nearly six months following the creation of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or CHOP, this past summer.

The only presence the city made Wednesday morning was a parade of Seattle Police cars, circling the park with lights flashing. Dozens of squad cars pointed spotlights at protesters and campers, but no officers approached the camp.

Since Monday, protesters have built a substantial barrier around the camp, made of chain link fence, wood pallets, and bits of furniture. Most people said the intent is to keep police out. But Anthony Pfeffer, who has lived at the camp since spring, said he was unsure about the structure.

"Do I feel safer? No, not really," Pfeffer said standing between his tent and the new fence on Wednesday, "because if I needed to run, I'd have to remember exactly where the exit is."

Pfeffer said some people used the construction of the barrier as an excuse to clean out their garages and dump old furniture at the park.

"It'll be a hell of a cleanup for the city if they do try to kick everybody out," he said.

Some activists say the camp should stay, citing CDC recommendations to avoid clearing encampments during the pandemic.

“It’s not just them losing their belongings — it’s them losing their sense of belonging,” said Earnest, a community member protesting the sweep. “This is such an inhumane solution.”

Earnest, who only identified himself by first name, added that he too has experienced houselessness before.

“I know what it’s like to sleep in a car and be out and exposed. It’s such an inherently traumatic experience to not have a notion of what home is. We have to normalize treating everyone as a community member. We say 'houseless,' not 'homeless,' because they have a home here.”

Earnest said he wants to see city officials enact a solution that will benefit people living in the encampment long-term.

“I hope that the city will consider giving people actual resources and letting them take that next step into their lives and not just have it all ripped away from them. They’re being thrown out into a once in a century pandemic.”

As police were preparing to sweep the park early Wednesday morning, some protesters set off fireworks and intentionally set an empty tent on fire. Some among the crowd argued the tent could have been re-used.

The sweep, however, never actually happened.

In August, Converge Media covered the encampment on Capitol Hill. People on site begged city officials to send social workers and people trained to help those with addiction and mental health issues. They said they had attempted to contact the Seattle Parks department, but the only representatives from the city who they had any contact with were police officers.

“This community has persisted through a lot of different things — we’re no stranger to interactions with the police," said one resident of the encampment, who provided the name Mud. "Being able to actually hold our ground and not have to be forced to displace, that is something that a lot of us did want and are happy about.”

Mud added that they were in favor of keeping the barrier erected around the encampment up.

“If it will slow down or deter the sweep, we’re in favor of it. We don’t want to get swept in the middle of the winter in the middle of the pandemic when there are so few options for us.”

Mud also said that there is a deep sense of comradery among people living in the encampment.

“I’ve really come to love a lot of the people that I live with here. We help feed each other, we help bring in resources, we’ve collected donations and distributed them to people, and try to get people tents. Just some sort of stability."

It's still not clear if or when the city will proceed with a sweep. In a statement, Seattle Parks and Recreation said the department is "currently assessing the site and have created a plan for a multi-day intensive maintenance and cleaning." A spokesperson did not provide any more details on a timeline.

As for the dozen or so remaining campers at Cal Anderson, Parks and Recreation says outreach providers contracted with the city have gone to the camp in the past week to offer housing services. Seventeen people, the city says, have been referred to a shelter or hotel and over half received help with relocating.