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.
A Tuesday protest rally planned for Freeway Park near the convention center drew dozens of demonstrators but did not cause any major disruptions around the city.
The Samidoun Seattle organization dedicated to solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners says the anti-war efforts are disrupting Boeing’s summit, however. “Our teams confirmed this morning that Boeing has moved day one of the Defense Supplier Summit program online and they have locked down their summit website,” an update from the group reads. “They are afraid of the power of our movement. We know they will still try to meet their goals of war profiteering, but we have caused a major disruption to their plans.”
In an op-ed published by The Stranger, organizers said they expect hundreds to participate in rallies and events this week to protest the summit gathering.
During large protests downtown, the Seattle Police Department has frequently employed a strategy of pushing demonstrators onto Capitol Hill where the neighborhood’s I-5 overpasses created a restrictive, more easily controlled environment for law enforcement’s efforts to disperse crowds.
The Boeing contractor meetings were planned to continue through Thursday at the convention center.
$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 🖤
