In response to Trump threat, US mayor calls protests 'patriotism'

SAN FRANCISCO -- The mayor of the US city of Seattle said in a news conference Thursday that President Donald Trump's descriptions of the protests in the city were inaccurate, and any threat to "invade" Seattle was neither welcome nor legal.

"Lawfully gathering and expressing first amendment rights, demanding we do better as a society and provide true equity for communities of color is not terrorism -- it is patriotism," mayor Jenny Durkan said.

"I also want to be clear as I have stated publicly previously -- it is unconstitutional and illegal to send the military to Seattle. We will not allow this to happen," she said.

Trump on Wednesday called demonstrators in Seattle "domestic terrorists," and threatened federal actions if local leaders do not "take back" the city.

The protests over racial discrimination, inequality and the police killing of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis have raged in Seattle for days. Hundreds of protesters on Monday took over several city blocks to create the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone" in the area around the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct.

According to Durkan, the zone is not a lawless wasteland of anarchist insurrection, but "a peaceful expression of our community's collective grief and their desire to build a better world."

"Seattle is passionate, we demand justice, and I believe we will be at the forefront of true, meaningful change. Nothing will distract our city from the work that needs to be done," Durkan said.