AP reports, we post the violence in Seattle yesterday which follows the violence in San Francisco on April 30. This is only the beginning, more to come and we will continue to report on this domestic terrorism.
Conservative Tom
Violence, arrests at Seattle May Day protests
SEATTLE — Black-clad protesters using sticks and bats smashed stores and automobile windows during May Day demonstrations that turned violent in Seattle, and police recovered homemade incendiary devices made from toilet paper rolls and fruit juice boxes.
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued an emergency order Tuesday, allowing police to confiscate items that could be used as weapons. By Tuesday night, police had seized about 70 such items, including one with at least a dozen cigarette lighters taped together.
"Our concerns were real, and I think we handled it as best we could," police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said late Tuesday night. "These were, for the most part, peaceful demonstrations. It's such as shame that such a small group of individuals were able to hijack the event and dilute the message to one of violence. They came here and they smashed it up."
Police arrested at least a dozen people throughout the day, as hundreds marched through downtown. Later in the day, two planned marches for immigrant rights and other social issues were mostly peaceful, though the large crowds disrupted rush hour traffic and temporarily rerouted city buses.
By late evening, however, rain and winds had thinned the crowds. Whitcomb said late Tuesday that police officers would continue their patrols and monitor activity overnight.
"We appreciate that the vast majority of people out there are peaceful participants," McGinn said at an afternoon news conference. "What we know from WTO previously is you get a group of people committed to cause damage...My direction to police is I expect them to respond to law breaking swiftly and aggressively."
McGinn said many of the most violent protesters — those who had caused damage with rocks, hammers and tire irons — tried to hide in the larger crowd early Tuesday afternoon by shedding their all-black clothes.
At the federal appeals court building, an FBI evidence team arrived after protesters shattered glass doors with rocks and threw or shot a smoke bomb toward the lobby. The device hit the only door that didn't break, spun off into some nearby bushes and started a small blaze that quickly burned itself out.
The entrance to the Niketown store was completely smashed in, with chunks of broken glass littering the sidewalk. Vandals splattered paint across the store and a neighboring business. Police on bicycles moved in and dispersed people, and the entrances were soon closed off with police tape.
Charlone Mayfield, a retired medical industry worker from Seattle, was inside a Verizon cellphone store when she saw the crowd approach. One of the protesters broke off from the group and struck the window as she watched.
"He started hitting the window with his baseball bat...I was here when WTO happened, this is really scary," Mayfield said.
Traditionally, May Day honors labor and workers' rights. In Seattle, it drew hundreds of demonstrators for immigration rights and from the Occupy movement, with several groups converging on a park near downtown for rallies and music.
A separate group held an organized march for immigrants' rights that proceeded to a downtown bank branch and then staged a rally.
"Our march is about the workers and the immigrants," said Rafael Garcia, 27, who pushed his 1-year-old son in a stroller.
Earlier Tuesday at the American Apparel store next to Niketown, assistant manager Mia Harrison was folding sweaters when she heard the commotion.
"I decided to go out on the sidewalk, and I saw all the people in black masks running to Niketown and our store. They started to throw smoke bombs and canisters," she said.
The vandals shattered a door and cracked two windows. No one was hurt.
"It's pretty sad, almost like someone broke into my house," Harrison said.
___
Associated Press writer Doug Esser contributed to this report.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued an emergency order Tuesday, allowing police to confiscate items that could be used as weapons. By Tuesday night, police had seized about 70 such items, including one with at least a dozen cigarette lighters taped together.
"Our concerns were real, and I think we handled it as best we could," police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said late Tuesday night. "These were, for the most part, peaceful demonstrations. It's such as shame that such a small group of individuals were able to hijack the event and dilute the message to one of violence. They came here and they smashed it up."
Police arrested at least a dozen people throughout the day, as hundreds marched through downtown. Later in the day, two planned marches for immigrant rights and other social issues were mostly peaceful, though the large crowds disrupted rush hour traffic and temporarily rerouted city buses.
By late evening, however, rain and winds had thinned the crowds. Whitcomb said late Tuesday that police officers would continue their patrols and monitor activity overnight.
"We appreciate that the vast majority of people out there are peaceful participants," McGinn said at an afternoon news conference. "What we know from WTO previously is you get a group of people committed to cause damage...My direction to police is I expect them to respond to law breaking swiftly and aggressively."
McGinn said many of the most violent protesters — those who had caused damage with rocks, hammers and tire irons — tried to hide in the larger crowd early Tuesday afternoon by shedding their all-black clothes.
At the federal appeals court building, an FBI evidence team arrived after protesters shattered glass doors with rocks and threw or shot a smoke bomb toward the lobby. The device hit the only door that didn't break, spun off into some nearby bushes and started a small blaze that quickly burned itself out.
The entrance to the Niketown store was completely smashed in, with chunks of broken glass littering the sidewalk. Vandals splattered paint across the store and a neighboring business. Police on bicycles moved in and dispersed people, and the entrances were soon closed off with police tape.
Charlone Mayfield, a retired medical industry worker from Seattle, was inside a Verizon cellphone store when she saw the crowd approach. One of the protesters broke off from the group and struck the window as she watched.
"He started hitting the window with his baseball bat...I was here when WTO happened, this is really scary," Mayfield said.
Traditionally, May Day honors labor and workers' rights. In Seattle, it drew hundreds of demonstrators for immigration rights and from the Occupy movement, with several groups converging on a park near downtown for rallies and music.
A separate group held an organized march for immigrants' rights that proceeded to a downtown bank branch and then staged a rally.
"Our march is about the workers and the immigrants," said Rafael Garcia, 27, who pushed his 1-year-old son in a stroller.
Earlier Tuesday at the American Apparel store next to Niketown, assistant manager Mia Harrison was folding sweaters when she heard the commotion.
"I decided to go out on the sidewalk, and I saw all the people in black masks running to Niketown and our store. They started to throw smoke bombs and canisters," she said.
The vandals shattered a door and cracked two windows. No one was hurt.
"It's pretty sad, almost like someone broke into my house," Harrison said.
___
Associated Press writer Doug Esser contributed to this report.
Here is another article for your reading pleasure:
ReplyDeletehttp://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/01/11485652-protesters-hit-streets-for-may-day-rallies-violence-flares-in-oakland-seattle?lite
And another one about New York and its raid on OWS leadership:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/nypd-fbi-raid-occupy-wall-street-raid-protesters-homes-may-day_n_1467340.html
Tom, if you read the reports objectively, you will see that 99% of the OWS protesters in the U.S. and around the world were engaged in peaceful, nonviolent protest. It is inevitable that a few idiots will show up with the intention of fighting the police, and a few police will show up with the intention of clubbing and pepper-spraying peaceful protestors. There are bad apples on both sides. But these police-protestor fights are a side-show. The main event is carried forward by the 99% of peaceful protestors (like me) whose only intention is get these Wall Street bankers and their friends at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Dept. under control before they repeat what they did in 2008 with another derivative scam of monstrous proportions. It's coming. They have already done far more damage to our country than al-Qaeda could ever imagine.
ReplyDelete--David
David, you are not part of OWS! It is a radical movement, not one which has honorable goals. It appears as if every protest is accompanied with law breakers of every stripe. This movement will end up with riots throughout the country this summer and by the end of the year, you will agree with me.
ReplyDeleteYou need to go see for yourself sometime. In New York, for example, tens fo thousands of peaceful protestors have participated. The idiots get the headlines, but they only represent themselves and do harm to OWS. Many, many OWS protests take place with nobody, or nearly nobody, getting arrested. The OWS detractors are nothing but shills for the Wall Street banks.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have the same problem with Muslims as with OWS protestors. There are a billion Muslims in the world and 99.99% never have done any terrorist actions. Those who do -- such as bin Laden and his followers -- are tracked down and killed like rabid dogs. I can't understand why Obama thinks he can negotiate with the Taliban, but that's another story.
--David