Shocking video shows the liberal tech haven of Seattle devolving into a sea of drugs, prostitution and homelessness.
Seattle, like many liberal west coast cities, has seen struggles with migrants moving in and homelessness increasing in recent years.
However, local reporter Jonathan Choe posted a clip that has gone viral for showing the shocking decay of the Emerald City.
The video, posted Monday comes from an Arco gas station on Aurora Avenue North in which reporter Jonathan Choe is confronted by a woman, alleging to be a sex worker wearing nothing but a bikini and high heels while shopping in the station's convenience store.
The woman appears indignant that Choe is filming and asks him why he's doing that, with Choe nearly baffled by her stunningly blunt reasoning.
Shocking video shows the liberal tech haven of Seattle devolving into a sea of drugs, prostitution and homelessness
'You're in a bikini inside of a gas station, that's why. I'm just wondering why,' Choe told her.
'This the way we sellin' a** over here, so you can put your camera down. I ain't got no shame in my game,' she answered.
She then became angry as he continued to film, saying: 'The f***? I'll break your phone.'
Choe sasses the sex worker back: 'I dare you to run in those heels, I'd love to see you.'
She appears to take him up on this, running after him as Choe leaves the convenience store, seeing another suspected sex worker on his way.
That's not the end of the depravity seen by Choe, as he heads down an alleyway to find a man on all fours, visibly suffering.
He offers to help, asking if he can get him out of the street and wondering if he's alright.
'In under two minutes, watch what happens on Seattle's Aurora Ave North on a daily basis,' Choe concluded.
The video, posted Monday comes from a gas station in Seattle in which reporter Jonathan Choe is confronted by a woman, alleging to be a sex worker wearing nothing but a bikini and high heels while shopping in the station's convenience store
The woman runs after the reporter as he leaves the convenience store, seeing another suspected sex worker on his way
'Fentanyl addicts and prostitutes still dominate this hood. Btw, there were kids in this Arco gas station when I rolled up Monday afternoon to get a soda. The current plan is not working.'
The city has concerns over crime and prostitution in that area, according to Fox 13.
In fact, the non-profit organization Stolen Youth has called Aurora Avenue North the epicenter of sex trafficking in the state of Washington.
'It's a huge issue, especially since the pandemic, it has increased,' said Renee Wallace of Stolen Youth.
'It's not only on Aurora Avenue but it's online as well.'
Local officials have proposed reinstating laws that ban loitering and prostitution, with the mayor promising to fix the problem.
Earlier in 2024, a man tried to lure girls as young as 11 into prostitution focusing on that specific neighborhood.
Wallace says there's a lot of work to be done both in the area and on the internet.
That's not the end of the depravity seen by Choe, as he heads down an alleyway to find a man on all fours, visibly suffering
Local officials have proposed reinstating laws that ban loitering and prostitution, with the mayor promising to fix the problem
'We tend to put a lot of Band-Aids on things and the city is hemorrhaging,' she said.
'There is the misconception that it's only happening out on the streets. Kids are more susceptible to getting exploited by playing online video games.'
The council and the mayor's office hope to have a solution imminently.
In April, officials in the city were scrambling to raise the $5,000-a-day hotel costs for 240 asylum seekers who overtook a school play area with tents and foreign flags in a takeover locals called 'threatening.'.
The city's police department has tweaked the rules to allow applications from migrants who crossed the border illegally as children and are registered on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), or 'Dreamers', program.
Washington state has allocated nearly $33 million for asylum-seekers, but much of the money is tied up in the legislative process and will reportedly not be available until the next financial year begins on July 1.
