Seattle business owner faces repeat burglaries, says city is 'field day' for criminals

Criminals are terrorizing America’s small businesses as the crime crisis rages on across the nation, and Seattle Shirt Company owner Jay Ashberg told "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" that he's looking to put a stop to it.

The small business owner argued the surge in lawlessness has "nothing to do" with the pandemic and everything to do with city governance. Ashberg put some of the blame on city council leader Kshama Sawant’s socialist approach in defunding the police.

"So really it’s just a field day for the criminals," he said. "They know they can get away with it. It’s catch and release; they don’t prosecute… So it’s really a field day for them to have at it."

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Since opening his clothing store in 1989, Ashberg shared that there have been minimal criminal incidents. But in the last three months alone, Seattle Shirt Company was broken into seven times – four of which were burglaries.

According to the Seattle Police Department, in 2021 there were 4,910 total violent crimes reported including 39 homicides, 1,613 robberies and 3,006 aggravated assaults.

Even though rising crime is "very frustrating," Ashberg pointed out that the increase in homeless encampments is posing just as much of a concern.

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"The city is not what it used to be," he said. "Their main corridor – the Pike Place Market… which attracts tens of thousands of tourists, millions a year…is not the safest place. People are avoiding it."

"You’ve got to clean that up. Otherwise, we’re going to be done,' he warned.

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