Tag Archives: protests

‘Student Rally for Palestine’ at Cal Anderson Park part of planned walkouts across state

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Groups including Washington State Unite, The Revolutionary Student Union of King County, and student groups at the University of Washington and Evergreen College say they have organized a “statewide walkout” Tuesday morning with rally points across Washington including Cal Anderson Park calling for the end of U.S. aid to Israel and for the end of the Israeli occupation of Gaza.

“We the students of Seattle refuse to turn a blind eye to the atrocities that Israel and the U.S. commits every day! Being silent is being complicit in these crimes against humanity,” the message from @wawalkoutforpalestine promoting the Capitol Hill rally reads. “On April 23rd at 10:30 am, walk out of class and meet at Cal Anderson Park at 11:45 am. Bring posters. There we’ll have speakers and educational pamphlets.”

While it is unclear how many students may join the protest, some of the organizing groups have also been involved in recent demonstrations that brought attention to the conflict in Gaza while making headlines around blocked roads and snarled traffic. Law enforcement response to the demonstrations has so far been mostly peaceful with arrests to clear roadways and streets. 46 protesters were charged in one of the most recent rallies that blocked traffic outside Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Seattle Public Schools had not issued any alerts or updates to families about a walkout as of Tuesday’s morning’s first bells.

 

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City warns about protests as organizers say Boeing has changed plans for Aerospace and Defense Supplier Summit underway at convention center

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Organizers planning protests against this week’s 2024 Aerospace and Defense Supplier Summit at Seattle’s downtown convention center say Boeing’s decision to move some of the multi-day event online show their efforts are making an impact.

The City of Seattle sent a bulletin to neighborhood business groups around downtown and Capitol Hill warning about possible protests and unrest related to the summit. “There may be demonstrations and traffic disruptions in your area related to a Seattle Convention Center event taking place 3/12 – 3/14,” the bulletin shared by the Capitol Hill Business Alliance reads. Continue reading →

‘In Recess’ — Arrests after protest disrupts Seattle City Council

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The Seattle City Council stopped its proceedings multiple times and six people were arrested Tuesday after public comment was limited during a demonstration at City Hall calling for support for a group of asylum seekers that has been bounced around the region as housing options have fallen through.

“Officers were called to Seattle City Council Chambers at about 2:55 p.m., as people filled the room and continued to interfere with the session,” SPD reported in a brief on the Tuesday arrests. “Those who were part of the disruption were told to leave the chambers, but they refused and were told they would be arrested if they continued.”

Police say the protesters were arrested for criminal trespass with one man also facing charges of obstruction.

With shouts growing as the time allotted for public comment ended, the protest and disruptions left the council and its six first-time members as well as council president Sara Nelson scattered with some calling for police to intervene. Continue reading →

Seattle reaches $10M settlement with 50 plaintiffs harmed by police response to 2020 Black Lives Matter and CHOP protests

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The city will pay $10 million to protesters harmed during the Seattle Police Department’s response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the city and the CHOP Capitol Hill protest camps, settling a sprawling lawsuit and bringing to a close one of the last major legal battles from the period of unrest and heavy response from law enforcement.

“A historic legal battle of epic proportions brought by 50 George Floyd/BLM Peaceful Protesters against Seattle and its Police Department has ended,” the Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore announced Wednesday.

“This decision was the best financial decision for the city considering risk, cost, and insurance,” Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said in a statement on the deal. “The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the city and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”

Davison said the city “admits no wrongdoing in the case, which was significant in scope, with plaintiffs alleging injuries sustained during the protests.”

Included in the plaintiffs is the estate of Summer Taylor, the Capitol Hill resident and protester who died in a July 2020 crash on I-5 as a driver attempted to speed through a demonstration on the freeway. In September, CHS reported on the plea deal that brought a 6 1/2 year sentence for the driver in that case.

That sentence and the newly announced settlement mark some of the last major legal maneuverings as the City of Seattle has been tied up in court for years in battles over civil rights and wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the flawed Seattle Police response. Continue reading →

Anniversary of Jaahnavi Kandula’s death brings decision in officer accountability investigation, vigil at East Precinct

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Punishment is in the labor contract-limited hands of Chief Adrian Diaz as the civilian-led Office of Police Accountability has found Seattle Police veteran and union vice president Dan Auderer violated department rules when he joked about the January, 2023 death of 23-year-old student Jaahnavi Kandula with Seattle Police Officer Guild president Mike Solan.

Tuesday night, demonstrators gathered outside the East Precinct to mark the one-year anniversary of Kandula’s death. E Pine at 12th was reported briefly closed to traffic during the vigil and march.

“We will never stop fighting for Jaahnavi, until there is accountability and justice in her name,” one participant posted about the vigil. “We will continue to show up every year to remind these 2 how precious and valuable Jaahnavi’s life was. We will never forgive and we will never forget.” Continue reading →

Seattle rally against ‘U.S. bombing of Yemen’ to gather on Capitol Hill

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Seattle organizers representing groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Falastiniyat, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation say they will gather on Capitol Hill Friday despite frigid temperatures for an emergency rally protesting the US-led military strikes on Yemen.

The rally is set to start Friday night at Seattle Central’s plaza near Broadway and Pine. Continue reading →

Demonstration calling for Gaza ceasefire blocks I-5 below Capitol Hill — UPDATE

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Dozens marched onto the northbound lanes of I-5 and blocked the Seattle interstate below Capitol Hill for about five hours Saturday afternoon as hundreds or protesters gathered and watched from the Olive Way overpass in the latest major call in the city for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The protest and march began earlier in the day outside the Melrose Starbucks Roastery where demonstrators have continued to target the coffee giant after it surged into the debate over the Israel-Hamas war in a social media tangle with the Starbucks Workers United group working to unionize its employees. Continue reading →

No charges over Durkan, Best deleted texts from 2020 protests

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No charges will be filed against former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Police Chief Carmen Best over deleted text messages from the time of the 2020 protests, saying a King County Sheriff investigation did not find evidence of criminal intent to destroy public records.

King County Prosecutor Lisa Manion’s announcement ends the investigation launched in 2022 after a whistle-blower revealed thousands of texts exchanged between Durkan, Best, current Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins and more officials during the 2020 Black Lives Matter and anti-police protests had been deleted from city-owned devices.

The deleted texts became the centerpiece of a lawsuit brought against the city by Capitol Hill property owners and developers with claims of “Spoliation of Evidence” and intentional subterfuge.

The city has claimed the deletions were caused by factory resets, 30-day auto deletions, and manual deletions.

But some of the explanations bordered on the comical including a Durkan oceanic mishap: Continue reading →

Driver in I-5 collision that killed Capitol Hill Black Lives Matter demonstrator pleads guilty

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Taylor

The driver in the July 2020 I-5 crash that killed a Capitol Hill Black Lives Matter protester and severely injured another demonstrator has pleaded guilty.

CHS reported here on the impending trial for Dawit Kelete, now 30, after repeated delays. Kelete’s attorney’s reached a plea agreement with King County Prosecutor in which the defendant admitted guilt to one count of vehicular homicide, a count of vehicular assault, and a count of reckless driving. The sides also reached an agreement on a sentencing recommendation for six years in prison and another year and a half probation. The sentencing is scheduled for September.

Summer Taylor died in the crash and Diaz Love was sent to the hospital with serious injuries in the collision that was captured on video and further inflamed the volatile situation in the city in the wake of the forceful clearance of the CHOP protest camp on Capitol Hill in July 2020. Continue reading →

Three years later, delays continue in trial for driver in I-5 collision that killed Black Lives Matter demonstrator

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(Image: @nowah_j)

Tuesday marked three years since a driver hit and killed one person while seriously injuring another during a demonstration that blocked I-5 through downtown Seattle at the height of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The legal process to try the man behind the wheel that night continues after years of delays.

Summer Taylor died in the crash and Diaz Love was sent to the hospital with serious injuries in the collision that was captured on video and further inflamed the volatile situation in the city in the wake of the forceful clearance of the CHOP protest camp on Capitol Hill.

According to court records, the latest trial date for driver Dawit Kelete is set for later this month but the start has been delayed repeatedly over the past year. Kelete pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and reckless driving in the weeks following the tragedy.

Earlier this year, it was agreed he was competent to stand trial and that a defense of diminished capacity could not be used. Though he passed a sobriety and breathalyzer test after the crash, prosecution and court records show Kelete has suffered from opioid addiction.

Meanwhile, his defense has also battled over alleged contamination of blood test work executed by the state crime lab. Continue reading →