Heavy emphasis on the use of “possibly” here, but reports are that Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan could face federal charges for her role in encouraging and coddling the CHOP/CHAZ, an “autonomous zone” that ultimately left several people dead, never mind all the destruction and harassment of local businesses.

This per The Daily Wire.

Report: Seattle Mayor May Face Federal Charges Over ‘Autonomous Zone’ Fiasco https://t.co/dV8mJHWwal pic.twitter.com/x1tufVnH97

— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 17, 2020

The Department of Justice is looking into whether federal charges can be brought against Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan over her failure to crack down on a so-called “autonomous zone” controlled for weeks by rioters.

Attorney General William Barr has tasked the DOJ’s civil rights division with investigating whether charges can be brought against Durkan, The New York Times reported on Wednesday evening citing two people familiar with the discussions. Barr has also asked federal prosecutors to consider charging rioters with sedition and insurrection against the United States government, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bill Barr strikes again. He’s apparently not content to let any of this go, and his department has been working behind the scenes non-stop since all this began. We’ve already seen some charges brought against demonstrators who strayed well past peaceful protest. Aiming a little higher at the same time is a good strategy going forward.

Accountability needs to happen. If you are one that believes police should be held accountable via the legal system for their misconduct, why would you not feel the same way about elected officials? For months, Durkan stood by as people were beaten, harassed, and killed on her watch. Instead of speaking against the autonomous zone, she called it a “summer of love.” It wasn’t until the mob went to her house that she decided enough was enough. Even then, sporadic violence and rioting has plagued her city into the late summer.

This is not my area of expertise, but there may be some charge that can be brought for her dereliction of duty and her decision to not protect the constitutional rights of her constituents. I don’t know if they are considering her as some kind of co-conspirator, as a inciting force, or something else, but the DOJ reportedly has an investigation open into this and is looking at all options.

I’m sure some will go with the angle that this isn’t a good precedent to try to set, but I’m pretty much gloves off at this point. There is no norm a Democrat led DOJ is going to adhere to anyway if they get back in power. If there are legal ways to go after Durkan, all those avenues should be used to their fullest possible manner. No benefit of the doubt or special treatment should be exercised. This is a woman who watched people get murdered while coddling the very anarchists doing the killing. She allowed a literal war-lord to take control of blocks of her city. There needs to be some retribution for that.

At the very least, civil suits need to the hit the Mayor’s office and her city hard. People deserve to be made whole after what she did. Lastly, the residents of Seattle need to wake up and elect better leaders. That final part is solely on them.

(Please follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)