(Image: Renee Raketty)
(Image: Renee Raketty)
Seattle Police and anti-police protesters ended 2020 in familiar fashion on Capitol Hill with clashes and arrests near the 12th Ave youth jail and the East Precinct after reports of property damage and more broken glass at an area business targeted in previous attacks.
Friday morning, owner Faizel Khan was sweeping up glass from busted windows at his Cafe Argento on 12th Ave at E Olive St. Khan’s business was first targeted this summer and he was at the center of a New York Times report on the police defunding movement that took a critical look at the effort through the eyes of local businesses and property owners. The small business is also part of a handful joining a group of developers and property owners suing the city over its response to the protests.
SPD reports four arrests in the New Year’s Eve incidents as demonstrators gathered in the recently reopened Cal Anderson and marched to the King County Youth Service Center at 12th and Alder before returning to Capitol Hill and a tussle with police up and down E Pine.
“Near East Marion Street and 12th Avenue, police arrested a suspect for property damage that occurred earlier during the march,” police report. “The suspect had fireworks and a glass beverage bottle full of gasoline on his person at the time of his arrest. While the group and police were at 12th and Marion, a separate unidentified member of the group threw frozen eggs at officers.” A second arrest was made outside the youth jail after fireworks were reported being aimed at the facility and its ongoing construction.
More arrests were reported at 12th and Pine outside the walls of the East Precinct barriers where demonstrators reportedly set a flag on fire and were blocking traffic. Police say they made two arrests there for “vandalizing the East Precinct.”
Activists say the New Year’s Eve demonstrations were parts of ongoing protests against police violence and a candlelight vigil for Tamir Rice, the Black 12-year-old shot and killed by a white police officer in Cleveland in November 2014.
Demonstrators reported additional arrests Friday night as a smaller group of protesters was reported vandalizing the East Precinct’s barrier walls with chalk and graffiti.
Police declare NYE riot: A riot was declared for "criminal mischief" during a New Year's Eve protest and vigil. pic.twitter.com/EJNjv1wkea
— Renee Raketty (@ReneeRaketty) January 1, 2021
The continued unrest comes after the SPD and city sweep of Cal Anderson just before Christmas to clear homeless encampments and activists from the park and a year of protests, rallies, and marches centered around the East Precinct.
Mayor Jenny Durkan has said the precinct barriers must be removed but that the building’s safety is also a priority. How that balance plays out in 2021 is yet to be made clear. For now, the large cement barriers added in response to the unrest remain in place.
Meanwhile, encampments have grown in other Capitol Hill parks in the wake of the Cal Anderson clearance.
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These people aren’t protesters at this point. You don’t take frozen eggs and Molotov cocktails to protests. Maybe call them what they really are?
So explain to me again just how trashing a minority owned small business is protesting police violence….
Black bloc has smashed windows of multiple small businesses on Capitol Hill that are owned by LGBTQI, people of color, and immigrants including Shoprite, Danbo, Palermo, Likelihood, George’s deli, Neighbors, and the bibimbop place by Cal Anderson. I am sure the list is much longer. They have also smashed out the windows on churches and several arts organizations. Nearly all of those arrested for arson and violence have been young white kids from the suburbs.
Cafe Argento is a Capitol Hill institution. I hope this hate crime against a gay person of color is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
If you voice your objection to their group, they will attack you. There should be no tolerance for this. They do nothing except steal resources from the needy and do nothing but destroy.
They should be seen as the terrorist group they protest.
So because Faizel Kahn sided with police over nightly protest last summer, they broke his windows again of his mom and pop business.
Now THAT is how you win over the hearts and minds of Capitol Hill, ENDD. Keep fighting that fight, Antifa protesters. I’m sure if you just keep smashing shit for people who disagree with your politics, you’ll win everyone over any day now.
The far-left criminals do not care about winning over hearts and minds. All they care about is their selfish ideology and expressing their hatred and contempt for those who do not share that ideology.
Maybe just righty in disguise? Take mom and dad’s money and go buy your I paid way too much to look this poor clothes and act like you are there for good reason while really just trying to create chaos out of rich kid boredom? Dear mom’s and dad’s, please stop paying your spoiled adult children’s bail!
Can anyone explain why the protesters weren’t holding a vigil for Horace Lorenzo Anderson Jr. or Antonio Mays Jr.? I mean these were two POCs who were recently shot while actually in Seattle.
Activists hate our neighborhood. They just hate it with a passion and they hate the people who live in it.
And no one in city government seems to care. Sawant literally cares about no one except people who give 10% of their income to her political party, the citywide reps are too busy cowtowing to groups who won’t let people around the park get a good night’s sleep for months, and the mayor’s had her foot out of the door for months.
Capitol Hill is just so, so, so screwed.
If you support BLM but are tired of the protesters tactics consider supporting Victoria Beach. She is a strong black women who’s ready to take a stand
You mean Boots? The “activist” who directly with Seattle PD? Fuck that, you wanna support BLM in Seattle? Follow and listen to @repirationswork on Twitter.
Antifa is that you? @repirationswork is a nut job that spouted all kinds of crazy in front of the East Precinct while the neighborhood was under siege. She was one of the many wannabe lords of Capitol Hill. What a complete joke to even mention her.
When can we evict the protestors using the fascist tactics from the hill for good? This isn’t going to stop until our city attorney Pete Holmes decides to do something about it. Email him and call his office. I can’t imagine something more fascist than attacking a business owned by a lgbt POC because he didn’t support the CHOP fiefdom.
Is there a difference between the fascists and anti-fascists besides the costumes? Agree with the comments that the media including CHS does a disservice by continuing to refer to them as protesters and that Pete Holmes needs to prosecute these kids or it will never stop.
Good idea, however Pete doesn’t like to punish criminals. We need to vote him out this November in order to stop this nonsense (if he runs again).
How long will this continue? Will it ever end? We’ve been suffering for seven months now.
There is nothing woke, nothing progressive, and no “justice” in a gang of bored white kids trashing minority businesses in an LGBT neighborhood to stick it to the system.
This isn’t doing anything for justice.
This isn’t doing anything for progress.
This isn’t even helping their anti-police cause since everyone I know favors the SPD over the protesters at this point. We were all shocked at the unnecessary violence during the early protests, but at this point we’re all on SPD’s side.
They use those causes as a shield that they hide behind so they can pretend they’re doing it for a good cause. The reality is that they’re just rotten people who enjoy this kind of debauchery, and the justice movement gave them a convenient excuse.
Frankly it seems to me that the only reason they continue to get away with it is that everyone is too afraid to stand up to them. Myself included! It’s pretty easy to find out where my family lives. And if there are no rules, what’s to stop them from terrorizing me the same way they terrorize these poor minority entrepreneurs?
Antifa (aka suburban white kids without jobs radicalized on the internet) use fear and intimidation to suppress free speech. They were enabled by City Council, Pete Holmes, the Mayor, sympathetic local media, and bad parenting to terrorize Capitol Hill for 7 months. First they used the BLM movement as cover for their live action role playing. Now they are using the homeless crisis. It is time to stand with POC, LGBTQ community, and small businesses to bring an end to the systemic racism, radicalization, and senseless violence that has ripped our community apart. In 2021 Capitol Hill should be a model for healing and resiliency not a stage for political theatre and self destruction.
lulz
I don’t get it… who are these people?? Who are the black bloc, ENDD etc other commenters mention? I don’t understand what could possibly inspire someone to destroy others property like this
Defund these goons, stop wasting our money on state violence and fund things that help people so our society can actually function.
Agreed. Cut off their allowance and trust funds!
Like stronger windows for small businesses?
Honestly since we’ve just let poverty rot for decades and decades in this hell hole rich white peoples paradise the only real solutions are a UBI and free national healthcare at this point.