There are two major protests planned in Seattle this weekend: one that starts in Cal Anderson Park and plans to march to Seattle Center, and another at the University of Washington’s Red Square. Meanwhile, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has said that it’s preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five cities run by Democratic leaders, including Seattle.
This is a lot! So we talked to local attorneys and advocates to help protesters figure out how to show up, mitigate their risk of arrest, and stay safe.
How can protesters choose to mitigate their risk of arrest?
The highest risk of arrest comes when police issue dispersal orders—which typically happens if they believe there’s a risk of riot, disruption, or a threat to public safety (which leaves a lot of room for police discretion).
“In Seattle, police officers are obligated to announce their instruction to protesters to disperse,” one local attorney told The Stranger. “If you hear them do that, you should disperse if you want to avoid being arrested. But, officers don’t always make that announcement audibly (or at all), and sometimes don’t allow crowds time and room to disperse. In that event, you should maintain self-awareness for your personal safety and comfort level. If you feel the tension around you start to rise, or you see officers begin to change their body language toward interacting with the crowd, you may want to find an exit route quickly.”
If you’re at a protest, there’s a good chance that you’ll interact with police at some point. “Plan ahead,” says Katie Walker, the communications director from CAIR-WA. “Police interaction is stressful and all planning helps keep all participants safe. Use de-escalation techniques. Identify group liaisons for law enforcement and make sure all group members know who is chosen. Identify and support group individuals who may have specific exposure concerns.”
“When interacting with law enforcement: Stay calm,” Walker says. “Make sure to keep your hands visible. Don’t argue, resist, or obstruct the police, even if you believe they are violating your rights. If you can safely do so, point out that you are not disrupting anyone else’s activity and that the First Amendment protects your actions.”
If arrested or detained, when should a protester speak to law enforcement?
Attorneys and advocates gave us a very short list of words she suggests people say to law enforcement: “Am I free to go?” If the answer is “yes,” go. If it’s “no,” tell them, “I would like a lawyer.” Then say nothing.
“If you start talking to the cops, even chit chat, you are potentially waiving your right to remain silent,” Danni Askini from Gender Justice League (GJL) says. “Unless your life is in imminent danger and they are in a position to save your life, remain silent at all times.”
“There’s no reason to speak to law enforcement at a protest, and it’s absolutely okay not to,” the local attorney told The Stranger. “There is nothing you can say to a law enforcement officer that will improve your situation or the situation of anyone around you.”
Can law enforcement require you to share identifying information?
“If you are just at a protest, under Article 1 Section 7 of our state constitution—no, police cannot demand to see identity information or demand your name,” says Askini from GJL.
However, you must identify yourself “if you are under arrest and an officer can articulate probable cause that you have committed a crime,” Askini says. Then “you are required by law to give your legal name or you can be charged with obstruction of justice.”
What can a protester do to protect their privacy, especially in regards to technology?
“Be as analog as possible,” the local attorney told us. “If you can make a plan with your people to meet up at a certain location if you get separated instead of relying on texts, do that. Make an arrangement with someone at home that if you’re not home by a certain time, they should check the King County Inmate Lookup to see if you’ve been arrested. If you need your phone, make sure it’s locked with a passcode, not facial recognition or a fingerprint, and keep it on airplane mode as much as possible.”
Walker from CAIR-WA recommends that if you keep your phone, turn off all location services, don’t use digital payments like Apple Pay or credit cards, cover cameras when you’re not using them, disable Bluetooth, and don’t scan QR codes or connect to public wifi.
“Cell phones are spies in your pocket,” says Askini from GJL. “They place you at the scene of a potential crime, can be collected and shared with federal officials who may later decide to prosecute people in the vicinity.”
As we head into a summer that could be full of protest action, Askini suggests that people “consider purchasing a MeshTastic device, setting it up with friends, and creating a mesh network to communicate with each other. We are moving into a totalitarian era, we should all be more mindful”
Facial recognition is a thing. How can protesters protect against that? Are protest mask bans enforceable?
“People have a right to cover their faces in Washington State and there are no specific laws prohibiting masks in public,” Askini says. “There are no state laws that explicitly ban face coverings at protests. However, if you engage in vandalism/assault and are caught, concealing your identity could be argued by prosecutors to be an aggravating factor.”
Who should a protester call if they are arrested or detained?
Most people we spoke to recommended the National Lawyers Guild at 206-OK-TRY-ME (check their instagram for hotline hours before you go).
“They should also have a very trusted friend, family member, or ally who is prepared to take action if they are arrested,” says Askini from GJL. “Since you may only get one call, you should prepare the person on the outside to make several calls on your behalf.”
What steps should a protester take if they feel their rights have been violated?
“Start documenting as soon as you can,” the local attorney told us. “Write down what happened step by step. Remember the 5 Ws [who, what, where, when, why], but also record details, like which side of the street you were on, what time it was, what you remember about the appearance or statements of the officers, etc. Your thoughts will be jumbled, but that’s okay. Ask a friend to take notes and help you get organized so you can just flow.”
In terms of other documentation, they say, “take photos of any injuries you have and write down how you feel over a few days. Often injuries don’t appear immediately. Get a medical exam as soon as possible so that you have a medical record of your injuries as well. Don’t worry so much about whether the law was broken or not—just record all the information about your experience as soon as you can, and worry about the legal part after a few days.”
“Make sure to put this in an envelope and mail it to yourself or have it printed and notorized – Having a time stamped “contemporary account” of your experience can be helpful in the future. This is also important for any time you may be interviewed, appear in court, or be put before a deposition,” says Askini from GJL.
“I’m not going to lie, getting justice after a mass arrest can be demoralizing, frustrating, and slow,” says Askini. “After a protest at the 2004 Republican convention in NYC, I was arrested, put against a wall in an alley, and repeatedly peppersprayed while being handcuffed. It was 10 years before the City of New York settled the lawsuit related to the mistreatment of arrestees. What it took was patience, persistence, and an unwavering commitment to secure justice.”
Should protesters avoid posting to social media?
“Reasonable minds can differ on this,” the local attorney says. “I tend to think protest social media is best left to the many journalists and livestreamers who are set up to document protests. But, if you do want to document your view of the protest, for example, if you want to livestream or document police violence happening in front of you, I recommend turning off location data and blurring the faces of any other protesters you capture if you can. We know for sure that law enforcement uses social media to locate people they want to target, sometimes days or weeks after the event. With all kinds of image searching software available and frequent cooperation between social media companies and law enforcement, your private profile may not actually be very private, and you don’t have control over how your social media post might be used once it’s up.”
Is it safe for immigrants to protest in Seattle this weekend?
“All non-citizens can be negatively impacted by interactions with law enforcement,” says Walker from CAIR-WA. She suggests carrying identity documents on your person, and for temporary visa holders, review the restrictions on your visa.
“Safety is relative. Immigrants are only as safe as law enforcement and ICE will allow them to be,” says the local attorney. “Washington’s Keep Washington Working Act prohibits local and state law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening, unfortunately. And, we can expect ICE to be in the streets as well as local law enforcement. Undocumented immigrants are at the most risk if they are arrested, but anyone who is documented but on a conditional status like waiting for a citizenship interview or an asylum hearing may also be at risk of an arrest damaging their application. We know the Trump administration has cancelled the visas of protesters as well. It’s a very personal decision, but I think anyone without citizenship should think through their decision really carefully.”
How can other protesters support immigrant protesters?
“I think people can start by considering how their actions may or may not put other protesters at risk of arrest,” says Askini. “I’ve been to probably more than 100 protests since 1998. I’ve seen a lot. When white protesters escalate violence with police in the presence of non-violent protesters who are immigrants, BIPOC, or trans, they are assuming that other people will have the same experience in the criminal legal system as they will if there are mass arrests, and they won’t.”
“Before you go, look up strategies for de-arresting people, and practice with your protest group,” says the local attorney. “If you’re white and a citizen, put yourself between law enforcement and BIPOC folks as much as possible (if an arrest is in process, be careful to either not interfere or prepare to also be arrested). Even if you’re just marching or rallying and the police are just standing around monitoring, put yourself on the outer edge. If you do see someone being arrested by ICE, ask them their name before the officers take them, try to get the badge name or number of the arresting officers, then contact WAISN or NWIRP with as much information as possible about where the arrest took place and the name of the person so they can provide support.”
What steps have you personally taken to protect yourself and others when attending protests?
“I believe in having a designated police negotiator, a clear press spokesperson, and a clear message!” says Askini. “The worst case scenario is when mass arrests begin and people who are not intending to get arrested for an action get swept up in mass arrests. While people can see negotiating with the cops as somehow ‘collaborating,’ I see it as a diplomatic endeavor that can stall arrests, extend the protest, ensure solidarity and allow people to make decisions for themselves about if they want to be arrested or not. I believe in doing our best to be strategic in our approach—while the crowd can react, situations can escalate, having a plan with things like legal observers, medics that are clearly mapped, press that are nearby to document and report, and clarity about who is in command of the protest is vital.”
“When I go, I make sure to mask, and I wear comfortable shoes and I usually have my bike helmet with me (I like riding there so I can exit quickly if I need to), some gloves, and a couple of bottles of water and snacks,” says the local attorney. “But the biggest thing I bring is my mindset. I think the most damaging thing I can bring to a protest is the idea that a protest has to be ‘peaceful.’ Protests are, by definition, disruptive. When protesters start policing each other and coming in with a mindset that a protest has to be ‘peaceful, it shifts the accountability for police violence away from police and toward other protesters. We don’t have to all want to use the same tactics in order to be in solidarity with each other.”
If you are an organizer, what protest tactics do you hope to see this weekend? What do you hope people will avoid?
“I understand the desire of protesters to fuck shit up, but I truly hope to see less escalatory ‘taking the bait’ this weekend,” says Askini. “The Trump Administration wants an escalation so that they can pull a Reichstag Fire and call in the national guard and military. Why take the bait Seattle? We are smarter than that shit. Out smart the police and feds. Lots of smaller protests all over the city grinding things to a halt is WAY more disruptive, smart, and difficult to manage. Avoid direct confrontations. Keep it bussin! Stay on the move and don’t get bogged down in one location. The most annoying protests are ones the police and authorities can’t predict.”
“But the biggest thing I bring is my mindset. I think the most damaging thing I can bring to a protest is the idea that a protest has to be ‘peaceful.’ ”
I would like to thank Askini for convincing me to stay far away from Cal Anderson park today.
With agitators like that in the crowd there’s no way the demonstration won’t descend into exactly the type of mayhem that Trump is hoping for.
A plague on both your houses!
Unless these protests have substantial turnout in Red Congressional Districts and state’s with Red Senators, they won’t move the needle.
Trump doesn’t care that Seattle doesn’t like him. 70,000 “woke” people protesting in a state he never had a chance of winning will be a badge of honor and build his street cred with those that turned to him in the 2024 Election.
Nice article but why didn’t it show up until only an hour before a major protest? I wish the Stranger would always have a front page listing of all the local protest. This is serious shit and I acknowledge that our protest in a blue state aren’t as effective as they might be elsewhere but every little thing we can do get under that assholes skin is a bonus.
@2, @3
The thing about protests in places like Seattle is that there is very little upside potential combined with a very high potential down side.
As @2 points out, Trump and his disciples don’t give a flying fuck about whether he is loved or hated in Seattle. Even if the crowd was thrice the size it would not in any way affect their decision making.
The only upside to protests in Seattle is catharsis for the participants.
On the downside. Well as I write this it has been a peaceful event, but the Sun won’t set for another 2 hours. If later tonight there’s dumpsters being set on fire or black bloc assaulting cops, that’s going to be featured non-stop on every new outlet, because If It Bleeds it Leads. Also the protests increase the possibility of things like what happened in Spokane where protesters interfered with ICE. Like it or not, ICE is law enforcement and interfering with them is going to end very badly, and provide Trump with every excuse to escalate.
That footage will severely impact our ability to win in Districts like the NE-2 (Omaha) where Democrats have a chance of taking a Republican seat in the midterms.
Unfortunately the courts move at a glacial, even continental pace, so our best hope of stopping Trump lies with winning back the House of Representatives. In order to do that we need to win in districts that Trump won. Giving the GOP advertising material by fighting cops in Seattle (or the National Guard in LA) will not help us take back the House.
“pull a Rikesdag Fire”
Did whoever mean to write Reichstag fire?
The Stranger must be getting desperate. Of the three sources cited in this article, one remains anonymous, and the other is Danni Askini:
“Lots of smaller protests all over the city grinding things to a halt is WAY more disruptive, smart, and difficult to manage.”
So, is the purpose of protesting to oppose Trump, or to inconvenience your fellow citizens of liberal Seattle?
“Rikesdag Fire”
Which idiot at The Stranger wrote this stupid article?
The Stranger/Slog has somehow become even dumber since Hannah Krieg and Ashley Nerbovig “left” it, which I wouldn’t have guessed was possible.
There are two possibilities:
1: Either the “Rikesdag Fire” was written in an email or chat exchange, from Danni Askini of the “Gender Justice League” (lol), to whoever wrote this slop article, and both whoever wrote this slop article is too stupid to catch and correct it before publication, AND Danni Askini is stupid for writing it
OR
2: It was a transcribed phone call, and whoever or whatever combination of “journalists” at The Stranger who wrote this slop is so stupid that they actually wrote “Rikesdag”.
Take your pick. It has to be one or the other.
It literally says “STRANGER STAFF” as the author. I wouldn’t want my name attached to this slop either.
What a lame bunch of comments from a bunch of cranky nobodies. Demonstrations were absolutely peaceful and you didn’t need a listing to find them, they were along the streets and in neighborhoods. The point isn’t to “move the needle,” it is see each other and build community to endure whatever dark period is next, and dang, we are everywhere and in the reddest corners of the reddest states. I am immensely proud of my country mates for showing up peacefully in the face of political violence, in support of our weakest members, and in spite of a complete lack of leadership from our political parties and institutions. What a day.
Lots of fearful little men in this thread. It doesn’t matter if trump notices or cares about the protest. It’s about exercising your right to free speech, you silly cucks.
And as for protests in red districts, I am in Eastern Washington this week and saw large demonstrations in Moses Lake, Ephrata, and Grand Coulee yesterday, so you can calm yourself.
Finally, I don’t at all understand the instinct to “fuck things up”. Yes, we have a unfair society, with the parasitic wealthy increasingly sapping the middle class. We’re also quite racist. I get that. But “fucking things up” only helps the cause of those parasitic wealthy. Don’t be played, and focus on the goal – in this case, resisting the slide into fascism.
@10, So you and those of similar view have no idea how to obtain a working majority again, so we can be free of Trump and Maga. No idea how to convert intentions into impact.
If your ideas and viewpoint are more enlightened and true, then how come you can’t figure out how to prevail with them? If you can’t win with those ideas and viewpoints, maybe its not how you wield them, but that you are shooting blanks with those ideas and viewpoints? If that’s the case, why hold to them?
I’m truly happy that the protests were free of drama but it will only be impactful if those folks channel that energy into mid-term election victories against republicans. I functioning congress can keep the orange piece of shit in check (I wish I could add judiciary to that statement but that ship has sailed).
So everyone, pat yourselves on your collective backs but put energy / time / money into defeating republicans in the mid term (this will ensure no kings).
@13, What Republican has a chance against Jayapal in the District where the rally was held and most of the rally participants came from?
Another rah, rah rally, with messaging that appeals to groups already voting blue. When are Dems, and Progressives in particular, gonna sit down and listen to the blue collar workers that left them for DJT and change their messaging and policies to win those folks back.
@12 It’s cute that you think the marketplace of ideas will win people back in a democratic vote! I hope you are right. In the meantime, it’s nice to know 8 million people ain’t right with an expensive military parade or national guard flexing on immigrants doing work that Americans won’t.
@15: “It’s cute that you think the marketplace of ideas will win people back in a democratic vote!”
Well, it simply must prove more useful than name-calling and condescension towards persons who likely agree with you on Trump.
@13: They weren’t. Naughty rioting antifa anarchists set fires in downtown last night.
“But the biggest thing I bring is my mindset. I think the most damaging thing I can bring to a protest is the idea that a protest has to be ‘peaceful.’ ”
I totally agree, and the minute any of those black masked criminal agitators start assaulting police, I hope protestors turn non peaceful towards them and do everything to them that they wish they could do to the police.
Nothing would make this city look better than liberals making violent citizen arrests against police assaulting criminals.
@16, lol, like there are so many commenters here on the fence about their political leanings asking good faith questions.
Fortunately I was there or it would’ve been 69,999 people.
@19: Like Seattle’s voters, Slog’s commenters are reliably liberal. Exceptions, like (parody) troll WBB, immediately stand out. Asking “what will this protest accomplish?” seems pretty sensible, especially after a long period of protests which shut down freeways, vandalized buildings at the UW, but seem not to have accomplished anything toward the organizers’ stated goals.
@15, What good are 8 million people if Dems can’t get back the working class voters they lost in 2024?
Whether Dems are short 48 million, or 40 million (8 million difference) they are still short.
If it’s not a marketplace of ideas, then what good does 8 million at a rally do? If anything you do, doesn’t change anything, what good is doing anything at all. If everything you do is meaningless and purposeless, then nothing really matters and there is no reason to do anything at all. Living doesn’t matter. Dying doesn’t matter. What you do while you live doesn’t matter. Existence is meaningless and without purpose.
@1 & 4
When democratically minded folks protest, together, they probably get the same warm and fuzzy solidarity feeling you get when you burn crosses or go to the monster truck rally.
@23: First, posture to the left of everyone else. Next, accuse everyone to your right of being a fascist.
Great work, if you want to ensure no liberal ever wants to work with you against Trump and the actual right-wingers.
Then what is your solution, NotMyopic dear, if protesting is apparently pointless? Postcards? Group Faxes? Or just blanking out on a sofa somewhere with the internet and some Mountain Dew? I will never understand this current crop of Americans’ sheepishness and seeming addiction to Magical Thinking.
Sir Andrew dear, your “what will the neighbors think???” attitude is tedious at best. The protest seemed to be the essence of peaceful. True, there was a slight altercation at the federal building at 11pm, but that is to be expected when the Anarchists come around. It’s a good thing they don’t believe in clocks.
As for the people of Omaha, I’m pretty sure they don’t really care what happens in Seattle, and right now they’re busy with the College World Series, which is their big event. To them, we’re a vacation spot. The fate of Don Bacon’s seat will hinge largely on events in Omaha, and at the adjacent Offutt Air Force Base. Omaha proper has a large African American population and a growing Hispanic population, and there are many active-duty and retired military personnel throughout that district, which extends west of Omaha into the rural areas. Omaha recently elected its first Black Mayor, who is also the first Democratic Mayor of Omaha since the early 1980s, marking an amazing turn of events.
@25, Exactly the right question.
What improves wages and living conditions for the working class? What language and issues repel them?
Focus on those measures in swing districts in swing states.
Look to Marie Gluesenkamp in Washington’s 3rd District and Jarrod Golden in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District for inspiration.
The Progressive Caucus in Congress needs to muzzle itself. Every time they make a pronouncement they drive the working class demographic to Trump.
Here is the paradox for The Stranger’s audience. The more they are overtly focusing on culture war issues, the more the raise the backlash, and the more the issues they care about in the culture wars suffer set backs.
The free(er) trade wing of Congress (which has been bipartisan, but is becoming more Democratic as the MAGA movement has made the Republican Party into a cult and made Republicans more isolationist) needs to slow down. Every time they reduce barriers to international trade, they need to introduce a program that retrains non-college educated people in jobs facing increased foreign competition for jobs that pay well (like electricians, linemen, et. al.), where the U.S. still has an advantage.
“When protesters start policing each other and coming in with a mindset that a protest has to be ‘peaceful, it shifts the accountability for police violence away from police and toward other protesters.”
Instead, let’s keep the accountability for violence on the instigator, rather than the Favored Group.
@27, This is an all-of-the-above moment. Yeah, fight for the working class because it’s the right thing to do — Im not convinced this will result in the outcome you want. We are deep in a fractured media landscape and misinformation, and nerdy policy talk is the stuff of consultant class, not everyday people. Policymakers are floating ideas of axing mail in voting, requiring IDs at polling places. We all saw January 6. Democratic processes are not guaranteed. America of 2025 is starkly different than 10, 20 years ago.
A strong, peaceful showing in the streets is important for the rest of us committed to righting the ship. Show up or don’t, but no need to yuck our yum.
@13 my focus is not on solid blue districts (like the 7th) – my focus is on maintaining the 3rd and flipping the 4th and 5th. If a handful of seats could be flipped in Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, or Colorado, then Trump could be kneecapped in pursuing his most loathsome aspirations.
Turn that movement into House victories.
HAHAHAHAHA The Stranger corrected their idiotic “Rikesdag Fire” without any acknowledgment of their ASTONISHINGLY STUPID MISTAKE.
Typical Stranger
Buddahamat dear, part of the reason we have the lazy stereotype of east of the mountains=red, west of the mountains=blue is because of the WA State Democratic Party, which, outside of (sometimes) Spokane, refuses to put any real dollars into supporting candidates east of the Cascades. There’s no reason the 4th and 5th districts shouldn’t be competitive. And now, with the effects of DOGE and the erosion of the ag markets due to the on-again/off-again tariffs, is the perfect time for the party to pour money into that region. Target the cities, towns, and reservations. Show up at the Moose and Eagle lodges, and the Grange halls. Counter the right-wing vacuum at the retail level. People are receptive to that, and the population is sparse enough for it to be possible.
And I don’t think that a candidate needs to abandon their “liberal” stances (pro-life, pro-labor, pro LGBTQIA, etc). Acknowledge them, don’t hide from them, and move on. Don’t get bogged down in sewer of conservatism.