As demonstrations continue to occupy part of the Capitol Hill district of downtown Seattle, MSNBC's Vaughn Hillyard and Stephanie Ruhle defended the occupiers from accusations of anarchy and mayhem on Monday by citing their "very peaceful" nature and their dedication to community.
Hillyard hyped the, "very peaceful week here on these streets" and credited that peace to the city's decision to abandon the East Precinct. Despite the fact the group calling itself the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest once called itself the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, Hillyard insisted, "this is not some hostile takeover."
According to Hillyard the people of CHOP are simply demanding the city address, "Not just on criminal justice issues but also education, health care, economic issues here. They want to see that change take place. And what you saw here over the weekend were thousands coming in to spread that message."
Hillyard's flattering report comes after a Saturday incident where he got yelled at by a protester who took exception to the zone being described as a "street festival." Monday's reporting was more in line with the "correct" interpretation of events.
Ruhle concluded the segment by also praising CHOP's "message of peace and community" and thanked Hillyard for his reporting, because "It's so important to have you there showing us the real story."
While the real story may include the political activism Ruhle and Hillyard applaud, it's not all fun and games. The real story also includes violence and the closure of the East Precinct has real world consequences such as tripling response times for emergency calls that deal crimes such as rape, assault, and robbery.
Here is a transcript for the June 15 show:
MSNBC
MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle9:47 AM ET
VAUGHN HILLYARD: You had very peaceful week here on these streets. To give you an idea, this was a week ago today when the police, when the city chose to vacate this six-block area, including the East Precinct, their police station. It was then you saw thousands and thousands of Seattle residents of all stripes converge, descend, converge on to this area. This is the gathering place, the congregation point for people to exert their energy, their anger, their frustrations to come together. You saw black, brown, white folks here. Young, old, on these streets engaging in conversations. This also became much more organized over the weekend. I think it’s important to note, Stephanie, this is not some hostile takeover. This was not a planned venture among one organization. It's a lot of folks doing their part to put out a set of demands they want to see. The police force as well as the city take. Not just on criminal justice issues but also education, health care, economic issues here. They want to see that change take place. And what you saw here over the weekend were thousands coming in to spread that message. Stephanie?
STEPHANIE RUHLE: That message of peace and community. Vaughn, thank you so much. It's so important to have you there showing us the real story.
