Antifa march, attack onlookers and vandalize downtown Seattle in response to officer involved shooting
Antifa attacked multiple individuals throughout the night as they were attempting to live-stream the march.
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Antifa attacked multiple individuals throughout the night as they were attempting to live-stream the march.
Antifa and Black Lives Matter marched in downtown Seattle Wednesday night, to protest a police-involved shooting that occurred along Seattle’s waterfront late Tuesday night. Activists smashed windows of businesses and assaulted members of the press along the way.
The police-involved shooting left one civilian dead, after the Port of Seattle Police Department (SPD) called in a suicidal subject holding a knife to his throat and requested emergency response from SPD.
"SPD responded to a call from the Port of Seattle Police Department about a subject in crisis. Port of Seattle officers described the subject as a white male wearing a black coat and black pants, holding a knife to his throat."
After officers arrived at the scene, the individual charged at Seattle PD officers with a knife.
"SPD officers arrived in the area and quickly located a man matching the description. Port of Seattle Police approached the man and attempted to use a less-lethal tool, but the device was ineffective. The man moved toward officers, and two Seattle Police officers fired, fatally striking the man," the statement said.
Although the body-cam footage of the shooting released by Seattle PD seemed to be justified, a militarized faction of Antifa called 'Seattle Youth Liberation Front' organized the protest by putting out an event flyer on Twitter.
Tonight at 6 #seattleprotests #SeattleProtestComms #seattlepolice #seattleshooting pic.twitter.com/gTcvWDn02L
— Youth Liberation Front Seattle Division (@seattleYLF)
The group of more than one-hundred met at Westlake Park for a vigil around 6pm and began their march shortly after.
SEATTLE: Antifa is marching in protest of @SeattlePD killing a man in self-defense last night after he chased after them with a knife. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/rq9y3BftT0
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
Activists marched from Westlake to SPD West Precinct, halting the march in the middle of the street to throw projectiles over the fencing at the precinct. From there, Antifa militants started targeting individuals in the crowd, including reporters and video 'streamers.'
Antifa militants began to throw objects at @SeattlePD West Precinct. They then pointing me out to target me and started chanting my name. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/Y22sEwg6a4
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
A group of the activists recognized me within seconds, pointed me out in the crowd and signaled to the group where I was so they could target me.
The heavy set #antifa who pointed out the videographer with the light is John Henry Dulaney, aka Mairi Dulaney. The transsexual antifa has been extremely involved in street direct actions & was arrested & charged before. https://t.co/QxwpHgl03K
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo)
After members of Antifa started chanting my name, a group began to throw eggs at me and 'mob' me out of the protest.
Antifa started harassing me with their umbrellas preventing me from filming. Then one of them started assaulting me with eggs. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/mxp6d7zhqg
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
As I was being mobbed by Antifa, I called 911 for help after failing to find Seattle Police Officers in the area. I eventually ran into a group of bike officers who told me they couldn’t help me as they needed to keep eyes on the protest and to head to the West Precinct to file a police report.
I was unable to file the report due to the fact that West Precinct is blocked off with cement barriers to protect the building and officers from protesters as anti police riots are a regular occurrence in Seattle.
The march continued on as the group moved in a well-organized fashion, vandalizing businesses and continuing assaults on individuals live-streaming the crowd.
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ANTIFA - 1 pic.twitter.com/8PBzkMjTjl
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— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA)
Antifa attacked multiple individuals throughout the night as they were attempting to live-stream the march. One of the videos captured Antifa throwing large chunks of ice at an individual filming them.
Antifa started attacking a reporter with chunks of ice. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/ncU3bNdJTY
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
An Antifa militant dressed in 'black bloc' drove by a group attempting to leave the protest and unleashed a can of bear spray.
Antifa just assaulted a group trying to leave the ‘peaceful protest’ with mace. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/lCrm22cK0L
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
Tension escalated throughout the night, resulting in a fight between Antifa and a security guard for a right-wing streamer. The man marching alongside Antifa started harassing a streamer preventing him from filming with an umbrella, prompting the security guard to grab the umbrella and fight back.
A chaotic scene broke out when Antifa prevented someone from filming resulting in assaults by both parties. #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/zenbloYGnU
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
A group of bystanders took issue with Antifa and showed their distaste for the Black Lives Matter Movement. "How does chanting, 'Black Lives Matter,' help my people," said a black bystander arguing with a white Antifa militant.
A group of bystanders yell at Antifa and show their distaste for their movement. They also mention how Black Lives Matter doesn’t help their people. pic.twitter.com/tPGrQ5Uh7z
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
A terrifying moment occurred when a security guard belonging to a right-wing live-streamer pulled out a gun and pointed it at the crowd as tension began to escalate. The same security guard flexed his weapon multiple times throughout the night.
I ran into a group of independents who were attacked by Antifa for live-streaming. They shared with me their account of what happened. pic.twitter.com/xldczrQoTf
— Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt)
Even with heavy police presence by the Seattle Police CRG Taskforce--whose job is to specifically monitor and contain protests--Seattle did not announce any arrests despite being present during the assaults themselves.