City Ordered To Pay $30 Million In Lawsuit

By
Mark Stevens
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For the family of Antonio Mays Jr., the recent jury verdict against the city of Seattle represents a moment that is both affirming and painful, a recognition of institutional failure that can never fully compensate for the loss of a 16-year-old boy. More than four years after the chaos of the 2020 Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, a King County jury concluded that the city’s handling of the so-called autonomous zone was negligent and directly contributed to Antonio’s death, awarding his father roughly $30 million in damages.


The CHOP, later rebranded as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, emerged during the height of the 2020 riots, when activists claimed several city blocks and declared that normal federal and state law no longer applied. City officials, rather than dismantling the encampment, effectively sanctioned it by withdrawing police and allowing barricades to remain. What followed was a breakdown of public safety that proved deadly. Multiple shootings occurred inside the zone, including the killing of Antonio Mays Jr. and, a week earlier, 19-year-old Horace Lorenzo Anderson.


According to court testimony, Antonio and his friend Robert West drove into the area near Cal Anderson Park when they were fired upon by armed civilians acting as CHOP “security.” In the aftermath, emergency responders were delayed or unable to reach the victims due to barricades and standing orders not to enter the zone. Jurors heard evidence that Antonio was alive, breathing, and had a pulse for an extended period, but did not receive timely medical care. A medical expert testified that his injuries were survivable and that he ultimately died from airway obstruction, not an immediately fatal brain wound, concluding that earlier intervention likely would have saved his life.


The negligence extended beyond law enforcement. Testimony revealed that city officials had established “designated casualty zones” outside the CHOP, intended as staging areas for emergency treatment. Even there, medics reportedly fled due to perceived danger, further delaying care. The jury ultimately agreed that the city had created a “state-created danger” by allowing the zone to exist while failing to ensure safe access for first responders.


The personal toll of these decisions was laid bare through Antonio’s father, who described raising his son as a single parent and building a small business together after escaping homelessness. Antonio left home believing he was traveling to a peaceful festival promoting racial justice, a belief shaped by public statements from city leaders. He never returned. The family’s dream, including seeing their barbecue sauce business succeed, was realized only after Antonio was gone.

The verdict imposes a financial cost on Seattle’s taxpayers rather than on the officials who authorized the abandonment of public order, a reality that underscores the limits of civil judgments.

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