Palestinian protesters and their allies say they are facing a new wave of political repression after four people were arrested at a Feb. 9 demonstration, in which about 100 community members assembled outside the waterfront offices of the World Trade Center Seattle to protest against the organization and its perceived support of Israel’s war against Gaza.
Organizers argued that the business advocacy group, which was founded by the Port of Seattle in 1998 to advance the city’s commercial interests, showed indirect support for the Israeli government. They pointed to Boeing’s membership in the organization, citing how the company supplies Israel with weapons used against Palestinian civilians.
Since the beginning of the demonstration, witnesses reported there was a heavy police presence. One protester estimated there were more than 30 Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers and a dozen police vehicles on the scene. After protesters blocked off a driveway at 2200 Alaskan Way, cops moved in to disperse the rally.
According to both activists and SPD, four protesters were arrested. One of them, 62-year-old school teacher Linda Bevis, was knocked to the ground prior to the arrest and suffered a head injury. In videos recorded by bystanders, one of the arrested protesters can be seen being pinned to the ground by four police officers.
Videos also showed a police officer using a knife to stab the tires of protesters’ vehicles, which were part of a “car brigade” used to help block off the driveway. Protesters claim police punctured the tires of three vehicles, while a fourth was towed.
After the four protesters were arrested, they were booked at the King County jail on allegations of pedestrian interference, obstruction and assault. Bevis was released from custody after three hours and transferred to Harborview Medical Center. Another protester, Oz Werner, was released at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 10, while the two others were released the following evening.
In a written statement, SPD said officers responded to the protest to ensure vehicle access to the parking garage adjacent to the World Trade Center Seattle and that one officer was injured during the protest. The department also said the tires of a protester’s vehicle were flattened “by an approved tire deflation device.”
According to the Office of Police Accountability, a complaint was filed on Feb. 13 and the incident is currently under investigation.
During a Feb. 14 court hearing, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) decided not to charge the four protesters; it could still do so at a later date.
At a Feb. 12 press conference, activists with the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) and the University of Washington Progressive Student Union — the groups that organized the original protest — denounced SPD’s actions.
“We were exercising our First Amendment right to free speech, calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza paid for with our U.S. tax dollars,” Bevis said. “Police were present, but there had been no order to disperse our crowd. At that moment, we were not blocking any street or the driveway.”
Bevis went on to describe the scene, saying that a group of about 10 police officers charged into the crowd of protesters without warning.
“I was pushed backward to the ground. My head hit the pavement with a huge ‘thwack.’ Then police pulled me up and into a cloud of pepper spray that had just been released. They walked me to the paddy wagon, handcuffed me and placed me under arrest with three other people,” Bevis said.
Werner, another one of the arrestees, also spoke at the press conference, stating the violence against protesters in Seattle is connected to the Israeli military’s violence against Palestinians.
“The Seattle Police Department, as well as departments across the country, are training with the Israeli occupation forces while our tax dollars fund them,” Werner said.
When asked about the recent $10 million settlement awarded to Black Lives Matter protesters who were injured by police in 2020 [see page 3], SAARPR member Robert Engel said SPD hadn’t learned anything since then, adding that pro-Palestine protesters will not be deterred by arrests or prosecutions.
“Protesting is not a crime,” Engel said. “Attacking protesters is a crime. The police seem to think that when they arrest protesters, we’ll back down. They seem to think that when they arrest only some of us, we’ll leave them behind and abandon them. They’re dead wrong. An attack on one is an attack on all.”
The events of Feb. 9 come in the wake of another high profile pro-Palestine protest. On Jan. 6, about 100 activists blocked I-5 North for more than five hours, while hundreds more cheered them on from the overpass above. At one point, the protest caused a traffic jam that stretched back six miles.
Protesters seemingly took law enforcement officials completely off guard as they scrambled to mobilize police officers to confront the activists on the highway. By the time they were prepared to disperse the crowd, the demonstrators had already left due to heavy rain and hail.
The lack of a forceful response from the police has sparked backlash among many Seattleites. The Seattle Times editorial board denounced the protest, while some commenters on social media called for violence against participants. Republican state Rep. Andrew Barkis introduced a bill, which garnered 40 co-sponsors, to make obstructing a highway a felony. The legislation failed to make it out of committee, rendering it dead.
Washington State Patrol (WSP) spokesperson Chris Loftis wrote in an email to Real Change that the agency considered the protest unlawful and opened up an investigation. To date, WSP has referred charges of second degree trespassing, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstruction against 12 protesters to KCPAO. As of press time, the prosecutor has not determined whether it will press charges against the protesters.
WSP also posted photos online to solicit information about other protesters, something Loftis said does not constitute doxxing since personal identifying information was not released. He added that the blockade did not constitute a lawful form of civil disobedience.
“We strongly support and protect the rights of the public to protest — to hold, speak and assemble around their beliefs — but are simply trying to keep them and the traveling public safe by disallowing and deterring freeway shutdowns,” Loftis wrote.
Organizers of the highway protest did not agree to comment about the protest due to legal risks.
While the two protests are separate incidents, they both involve potential criminal charges against people who protested in support of Palestine. Despite the risks, activists said they will continue to speak out against the Israeli and U.S. governments.
Guy Oron is the staff reporter for Real Change. He handles coverage of our weekly news stories. Find them on Twitter, @GuyOron.
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