Anarchists leave a 1.4-mile trail of destruction in downtown Seattle last night

No police were to be found or seen for over 45 minutes as anarchist cell rampaged downtown.

Absolutely No Police Presence

For 45 minutes last night, I literally witnessed an anarchist cell go on a rampage in downtown Seattle totally unchecked as they broke window after window and looted several locations and there was absolutely no police presence or deterrence on their trail of destruction.

Literally from 5th and Jackson to 7th and Pine this group of about 40 teens and young adults walked through downtown Seattle on a vandalism spree breaking as many windows as possible and spray painting on buildings and windows. On several occasions, police cruisers would pass an intersection and see them and keep going. Not once in the 45-minute walk was there any police intervention, not even over the megaphone.

My walk with this group of Anarchist started on 5th and Jackson where they broke out the windows at Bartell’s and FedEx Office and then across the street to Bank of America where they broke out the windows there and as well pulled down the security cameras and entered the bank, from there they crossed the street to Washington Federal Credit Union where again windows were broken out and so on throughout the ID. Several small businesses were targeted in the ID. There were a few voices in the crowd of anarchist who could be heard saying things like “not the small businesses” but in the end, those cries fell on deaf ears as the destruction through the ID continued. The group then circled back on Jackson and literally walked back past the Bank of America, where there was now a heavy police presence and continued unchecked to 2nd and Jackson where they headed northeast and up to 3rd. Once reaching 3rd and Yesler they broke out the door windows at the King County Court House doors and continued on 3rd to Cherry and then west to 5th, they rallied for a minute adjacent to Seattle Police Headquarters and then headed north on 5th for their literal march of destruction breaking windows, building barricades and spray painting all the way from 5th Cherry to 5th and Union, they turned east on Union and broke out the windows at Brooks Brothers and looted some items out of that store they then proceeded to east on Union to 6th Avenue and then north on 6th Avenue breaking out windows in the US Bank Building. Once they reached Pine they turned east and finally on 7th and Pine is when several cruisers descended on the location and at that point, several members of the group split into smaller cells. I was just a few blocks from my home I called it a night. However, police sirens could be heard blaring for another 45 minutes through downtown.

FedEx Office on 5th and Jackson where anarchists broke out some front windows last night.

Damage Report

These are some of the businesses or buildings that I personally saw windows broken and, in some cases, looted. Many are captured in my Facebook live.

• Bartell’s 4th and Jackson

• FedEx Office – 5th and Jackson

• Bank of America – 5th and Jackson

• Washington Federal Credit Union – 6th and Jackson

• Seattle Vision Clinic· -Several small businesses and restaurants in the ID

• King County Court House – 3rd and James

• IBM Building

• Brooks Brothers- 5th and Union

• US Bank Tower - 6th and Union

The Anarchists Have New Tactics:

So, the last “anarchist” event I covered was May Day 2016 and what I can tell you is that between now and then, these guys' tactics are totally different and clearly caught the Seattle Police Department off guard. Four years ago it was all about one big group protesting and breaking things when they could, however, that year SPD was able to channel the entire group from Westlake all the way to Costco with minimal damage to property and also minimal arrests.

Last night, it appeared that what the anarchist did was literally let the legitimate protesters who wanted to voice their grievances about George Floyd and police issues, in general, do just that and keep the police occupied, and most of you who caught the 11 pm news, saw some light protests. However, while the ideologues were occupying the police. The anarchist slowly reduced their overall visible numbers, so it actually appeared that for the most part, the protest was winding down in general outside of a few incidents. This caused the Seattle Police to reduce their overall presence as by the time the original protest reached South Washington Street the police presence was noticeably smaller. It was not too long after that the anarchist cells remerged in small splinter groups and began wreaking havoc at different locations mostly in the ID and South Downtown initially, but it also spread into the city center and Capitol Hill.

Here are the tactics that I observed:

• Broke into many smaller cells all heading different directions and outmaneuvered and stretched thin the police force thin which created gaps for some cells to roam freely.

• Used umbrellas to obstruct officers view

• Lasers in police officers’ eyes

• Tore down surveillance cameras or spray-painted over them

• Every block they built some kind out barricade out of items – garbage cans, dumpsters, fencing, anything they could find to block the streets.

• Previously wearing a mask would make them easy to identify but because of COVID everyone is wearing a mask.

The ID gets punished again

As if the International District (ID) has not suffered enough during COVID-19 at the hands of racists who have vandalized restaurants and troll many ID residents via social media. Last night the ID was punished again.

When I first met up with the protest it was on 5th and Marion. The SPD deliberately pushed the protesters, who had already broken several windows at an Amazon Go on 5th and Marion, into the International District. About every 15 minutes the SPD would move the protesters another block south until finally, the protesters were literally in the heart of the ID on 5th and Jackson. Once in the ID and now with a diminished police presence, the ID ultimately was left unprotected and exposed easy pickings for the anarchist group I followed. As I mentioned previously not one time while the group of anarchists I was with was in the ID were they engaged by Seattle Police.

Additionally, there were no SPD cruisers inside the ID to offer a deterrent. It was literally lawless as when some cruisers did arrive in the area, they stayed at least a block behind the protesters and watched as they vandalized businesses there. A really good question that I have is that if the plan was to push these protestors into the ID, what was the plan to make sure that the people and property of the ID were protected?

Questions that need answers

A lot of questions remain about last night. Did the police intentionally let these groups of anarchists roam free in downtown Seattle, staying at a distance and refusing to engage them? Or were the Seattle Police outmaneuvered by groups of teenagers and young adults many of whom were not even from Seattle and did not know our city streets well?

Another question that I asked back at May Day 2016 and I ask again today, would I and my Black friends from the Central District be allowed to do the same as the majority White “Anarchist” group did last night? Could young Black teens from the CD rampage from one end of downtown to another unchecked?

If you are going to a protest today downtown

Please be advised, there is a fairly large group of determined people tomorrow who are intent on violence and vandalism occurring. Here is my advice to you. If you come in peace to make your voice heard and to bring awareness to the killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. I would advise that you protest and leave downtown soon after otherwise, you run the risk of you and your cause being co-opted by a movement that might not necessarily be aligned with yours.

The Anarchist cell I was with was clear that last night for them was a test run to see how SPD reacts and that their plan for tonight is to cause as much damage to property tomorrow as possible. That could have all been bravado anarchist talk, but considering how they owned downtown Seattle last night, why wouldn’t they be confident about this evening.

Please be safe everybody.