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Could a new occupied protest zone be formed?

SEATTLE — With the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone cleared, some protesters have plans to form another occupied protest site.

“Let’s take up and occupy here,” one protester said about forming a new zone.

Early Wednesday, police came through the CHOP zone and started clearing the area after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued a 48-hour executive order to vacate.

Police held a perimeter that allowed city workers to remove barriers, clean up streets and offer services to people living there.

During the cleanup, police also made a couple of dozen arrests, mostly for failure to disperse. Some of those arrests were for obstruction, assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

As CHOP is now cleared, protesters said their movement will only continue to grow.

Durkan was asked how the city would handle a new occupied zone that protesters want to see come to life. She answered, “We will support the right of free speech, but we will not support the right of people who are creating a situation like we had on Capitol Hill.”

It’s a situation the mayor said can’t happen again.