Good morning! This day wasted no time getting sunny and beautiful. Clear skies, highs in the mid-70s, extremely high grass pollen. It’s summer.
Let’s do the news.
If the Seattle Times’ estimates are right, 70,000 people showed up to the No Kings rally on Saturday. That would mean almost 10 percent of Seattle turned out with sneakers on and handmade signs to shout down fascism this weekend. It didn’t beat the Women’s March’s 125k record, but hot damn that’s a lot of people that hate Trump, care about immigrants and queer people, and wanna see Elon Musk, Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, and every other helmet-haired, puppy-killing Trump official lick rust.
The rally started in Cal Anderson Park. Protesters easily filled three quarters of the seven acre park, and spilled out onto the surrounding streets. The rally started with a series of speakers, including a group of federal workers who led the crowd in the pledge to the constitution. Rep. Pramila Jayapal gave a tearful speech about political courage in the face of authoritarianism, and then the whole rally started marching toward Seattle Center. The march stretched almost two miles (one spectator asked me if they were marching in a circle). Cops kept their distance—generally a block or two away from the crowd—and it paid off. Look at that: when cops don’t escalate situations, they stay pretty chill.
Shoutout to the Smaller Protests Too: At least 5,000 people showed up at UW’s Red Square, and hundreds of protesters rode the 10:25 a.m. ferry between Bainbridge and Seattle for their “Ferries, not Tanks” demonstration.
Justice for Afa: There were No Kings protests in all 50 states, and the ACLU estimates that at least 5 million people hit the streets over the weekend. They were largely peaceful rallies, with the exception of Salt Lake City’s. There, according to police, 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa had an AR-15-style rifle in his backpack. Two armed, non-police “peacekeepers” saw Gamboa lift the gun as if to shoot it, and one of them shot at him. They did shoot Gamboa, and he didn’t shoot any other protesters, but they also shot and killed a bystander at the protest named Arthur “Afa” Folasa Ah Loo. Everyone involved is in custody, and everyone would be better off if we had better gun control laws.
Chinga La Migra: On Friday, ICE officials issued surprise notices to asylum seekers that were part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. The message instructed them to go to the Homeland Security building in Tukwila on Saturday or Sunday, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. This was extremely unusual, immigration lawyers said. And to be clear, no one who was summoned were undocumented immigrants—they were legally allowed to be in the US. More than 40 people showed up to the immigration building on Saturday, and while reports differ, at least two appear to have been detained and sent to the ICE facility in Tacoma.
Chinga La Migra Part II: When ICE officials appeared to be transporting those people out of the ICE facility, protesters created a blockade, using shields, no parking signs, and their own bodies to try to stop the transport. According to a statement by Tukwila police, Federal Protective Services (part of Homeland Security) asked for their help to clear the road, because it was technically their jurisdiction. They obliged. KUOW reported that within 90 seconds of ordering the crowd to disperse, Tukwila PD used tear gas on the protesters. ICE Special Response Teams (their personal SWAT team) joined in, and video shows them wrestling protesters to the ground and using their own chemical weapons. In their statement, Tukwila PD said twice that the protesters were wearing all black—even providing photo evidence—as if that justified their actions.
Someone Left Trump’s Cake Out in the Rain: Meanwhile, Trump’s military parade/birthday party was a flop. He spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to trot out three dozen horses, 28 Abrams tanks, and 6,700 soldiers to a sparse, unimpressed crowd while he tried to figure out how to look like he was saluting and not just shading his eyes. Oh and don’t forget the moment when soldiers were marching to A SONG ABOUT PRIVILEGED DRAFT DODGERS.
I did not edit this, this is the actual parade with the actual music being played.
CINEMATIC
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.lol) June 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Political Violence in Minnesota: After a two-day search—and the largest manhunt in Minnesota history—law enforcement arrested Vance Boelter late Sunday night and charged him with second degree murder. On Saturday morning, authorities say Boelter approached two state lawmakers’ homes wearing a latex mask and a police uniform. He shot and killed former Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark; He also shot Democratic State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who both survived. When he was arrested, Boelter had a list of about 70 potential targets, including politicians, civic and business leaders, and Planned Parenthood centers.
Another One Bends the Knee: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles—one of the country’s oldest and largest providers of gender-affirming care for children and young adults—announced that it’s closing its Center for Transyouth Health and Development next month. The hospital specifically blamed the Trump administration’s executive orders, and the funding that they’ve lost because they provide gender-affirming care to minors.
What Do You Call One Quarter of a Bonnaroo? Thanks to severe rain and flooding, the four-day music festival in Tennessee had to pull the plug after their first day. If you were there to see Luke Combs, you were in luck! But if you were there for Olivia Rodrigo, Hozier, or Tyler, the Creator, this weekend was a disappointment. On the bright side, everyone who bought a four day pass is getting 75 percent of their money back. (And before you scoff at a little rain—the same storm system caused flash floods in San Antonio that killed 13 people.)
Looking for something to do tonight? Head to The Beacon for a screening of Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers. Stranger Staff Writer Audrey Van writes: “If you are a fan of any of the following, then Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers is a must-watch for you: the early films of John Waters, vanilla ice cream cones, ostrich-feather boas, and Buster Keaton-style physical comedy.”
Smokey Bear Is Disappointed in Us: Fire season is getting an early start in Washington this year. We’re getting some rain on Friday, which should help! But we should expect an..eventful fire season this year.
Sacklers Got Sacked: In a $7.4 billion dollar settlement, the Sackler family—who knowingly pushed highly-addictive opioids on the world—has agreed to never sell opioids in the US again. Purdue Pharma still gets to exist, but at least they can’t make money off of it anymore. Instead, all of Purdue’s profits will go to opioid addiction treatment and prevention. Justice? Maybe not, but it’s a start.
I’ll send you off with a treat: The anthem against wealthy, bone spur-having men who are able to dodge the draft, CCR’s “Fortunate Son.”
“Two armed, non-police “peacekeepers” saw Gamboa lift the gun as if to shoot it, and one of them shot at him. They did shoot Gamboa, and he didn’t shoot any other protesters, but they also shot and killed a bystander at the protest named Arthur “Afa” Folasa Ah Loo.”
Transferred Intent case law likely makes them not criminally liable for the death of the bystander.
It also makes it likely that Gamboa is charged for the death of the bystander even though he did not fire his weapon.
If commenters aren’t happy with that outcome, then they need to elect different legislators. That is the state of democratically enacted laws, enforced by democratically elected judges, in all 50 states.
If you want a standard other than the democratically enacted one applied to cases like these, before the existing standard is democratically changed, then you are anti-democratic.
You heard it here, folks. Millions of people around the world are anti-democratic because their opinions differ from what the law allows, unless their efforts to make change are successful, at which point everyone who prefers previous law hates democracy.
Of course by this standard anyone with a brain is anti-democratic in some capacity because it’s impossible to be satisfied 100% of the time, unless you’re a mindless simpleton, in which case you would be just as happy under authoritarianism than living in a country where you have the capacity to make change. That’s right, the only people who truly love democracy have no use for it! Brilliant analysis, no notes.
Protesters.
I don’t think you should use the same term to define the 70,000 peaceful people who marched in Seattle and the 150 violent people who “created a blockade, using shields, no parking signs, and their own bodies to try to stop the transport.”
That type of language use delegitimizes constitutionally protected speech by equating it with criminal behavior.
Attempting to block law enforcement from transporting a prisoner is going to be met aggressively by any law enforcement agency on planet Earth.
Don’t endanger peaceful protesters by equating them with violent insurrectionists. Marching from Cal Anderson to the Seattle Center to protest Trump’s policies is Constitutionally protected speech; blockading a government building and preventing government employees from doing their job is not.
@1,
You’re an idiot.
@3: Sorry, “Protestors” has an expansive definition, from fighting with cops to sitting high up in a redwood for weeks.
You’re just going to have to deal with it, or you’re ANTI-DEMOCRATIC.
@5
Then you’ll just have to deal with the fact that not all protests are Constitutionally protected.
s God I so love purity tests, they are absolutely a winning strategy when forming political coalitions. /s
@ 3/6:
Oh, just go and fuck right off, you worthless, craven boot-licker. Between you, Phoebes and SB – or whatever he’s calling himself nowadays – we have more than enough querulous sophistry around here to satisfy even the most quavering, whatabout-spewing apologist.
Getting arrested for breaking the law is a pretty typical and expected experience for people who break the law as an act of protest. Not sure about the rest of you but I learned about this stuff in high school.
Tiny missing detail — the protesters threw frozen water bottles and rocks at officers in Tukwila, which is why they were reasonably tear gassed. Protesters also beat and assaulted multiple journalists present.
If the provided video is representative, I imagine that the part that really rankles is how sloppy “his” soldiers marching was compared to the highly synchronized crispness of other dictator’s dict-swinging.
@6: I have dealt with that. I’ve DISPENSED with it.
as @8 wrote, many protests, violent and non-violent, purposefully break laws in order to draw attention to injustice or injust laws. even Civil Rights protests, the ne plus ultra of non-violent protests, intentionally broke laws.
it’s not news, but maybe it is to you?
BTW where’s Kristo? My scrolling finger is getting weak and needs the workout.
@4, That is a brilliant, factual, legal refutation.
I’m impressed.
I gotta give credit to Tukwila Police for being so responsive. Thank you TPD for protecting our federal agents as they carry out their important mission to deport illegal immigrants.
And thank you Children’s Hospital of LA for choosing to no longer experiment on children with dubious treatments for gender dysphoria. You took too long, and history will record your previous actions as evil, but at least you came around to the light eventually.
@2, It’s democracy in action to try and change a law.
It’s anti-democratic to thwart the majority.
It’s anti rule of law. You correctly note, that Trump is bad because he thwarts rule of law. If it’s bad, and anti-democratic when he does it, why not when anyone else does the same thing?
@6 criticizes purity tests WHILE employing a purity test, absolutely awe inspiring lack of self awareness
@15 “Trump is bad because he thwarts rule of law. If it’s bad, and anti-democratic when he does it, why not when anyone else does the same thing?”
Well just off the top maybe it’s the fact he took an oath of office in which he committed himself to upholding the law? Do you need more examples of how the literal President is differently situated than a random civilian?
@14, also waiting for other bodily mutilation such as male circumcision and piercings/tattoos to be outlawed because “evil”
@7: That’s quite a high brow zinging retort with your trademark trigger happy profanity. Take a bow.
@12: I was wondering that too. Despite his frequently annoying tapestry of geometrically configured musings, he always had a knack for putting everyone in their palace.
@18 – first, thank you for using the word mutilation. It seems most people around here don’t understand what is being done to children.
I personally have no issue with piercings or tattoos (Although I would never get one) but I think you are on to something regarding male circumcision. I do believe that circumcision without consent should be made illegal. I don’t blame my Dad for following tradition, but frankly I’d like my foreskin back.
@18 circumcision should definitely not be standard practice for babies. It shouldn’t be illegal but, it also shouldn’t be up to the parents whims and fancies unless there’s an actual medical reason for it. Also shouldn’t pierce babies ears anymore. I’ve always thought that was super weird.
@15, Having a dissenting opinion is not trying to thwart anything, it’s a regular feature of being human, but you’re using this interchangeably with breaking the law for some reason. It’s not breaking the law to dissent in the united states.
If your point is to draw an equivalency between trump and any given protester who breaks the law, that doesn’t hold either. Breaking the law is different when trump does it because he’s president. He swore an oath to defend the constitution and he sets a dangerous precedent for future presidents when he subverts the rule of law for personal/political gain. If I block traffic, the future of our constitutional republic is not at stake. I just go to jail or pay a fine or something. And if the law changes following my acts of disobedience, I switch from anti- to pro-democratic without changing my beliefs about anything, if we are to take your idiotic argument at face value.
You try way too hard to invalidate other people’s opinions when it would be so much easier and infinitely more mature to just agree to disagree like a normal adult.
The reckless idiot who killed Arthur Folasa Ah Loo may escape criminal prosecution (I hope not) but they shouldn’t / won’t escape civil prosecution / liability.
@17, Got it. Citizens have no obligations to respect rule of law. They have no obligation to obey the laws established by initiative, referendum, or established by a democratically elected Legislature. Where in the Bill of Rights do I find that citizen right?
@22, Having a dissenting opinion is democratic. Not agreeing with a law is your right.
Trying to thwart enforcement of a law, because you don’t like it, is in opposition to rule of law adopted via democratic processes and the right of the majority to set laws and have them enforced.
One way to look at it is that there is actually nothing prohibited by law. The law merely sets costs you will have to pay to do something the law says you shouldn’t. Viewed in that light, it could be democratic to disobey a law, plead guilty, and pay the cost society has imposed for engaging in that particular behavior; however, those that violate the law usually try and escape paying the penalty for the behavior established in law.
See @24 regarding the alleged difference between an elected official and a citizen. The whole point of rule of law, is whether you agree with it or not, you are obligated to follow the law, or if you don’t think the law is imposing obligations, pay the criminal cost democratically imposed on certain behavior.
Hey The Stranger, just a reminder that you continue to platform @14 WereBackBay, a human pile of transphobic shit. He’s not even trying to hide it.
@10
That level of sloppy marching was a choice. Considering the amount of marching and drilling that goes on in the military, doing it that poorly would take some effort.
@26, This is dumb, man. You can stop at any time.
You are not obligated to follow the law, only to pay the consequences if you get caught. I broke the law this morning when I was driving 80 mph on my way to work. If i were to get pulled over I would pay the fine, just like anyone who gets arrested for breaking the law in protest.
None of this is on par with what trump has done, nor is it anti-democratic, in part because he is breaking his oath to the constitution, bur also because protesters are not breaking the law because they disagree with it — ie people aren’t blocking traffic because they want traffic to be outlawed — they are creating a spectacle to call attention to a perceived injustice, and assume the consequences if they are arrested and charged for it.
If all law breaking were created equal we would treat them as such. If the law doesn’t treat minor infractions the same as high crimes and misdemeanors you don’t have any logical justification to disagree with that. By your own stupid argument, you do not believe in democracy or even the rule of law.
@20, @21 Circumcision is associated with something like a 10x reduction in the rate of penile cancer. It’s quite reasonable for parents to make the medical decisions for their babies, especially an important and beneficial one like this. To say nothing of setting them off on the right foot, given how many women dislike the unsightly cone of skin, precluding the necessity of getting the procedure done as an adult rather than when they won’t even have to remember it.
@28, I agree Trump has been committing high crimes and misdemeanors since 2016.
The U.S. Senate has been unwilling to convict Trump of the U.S. House of Representatives accusations of several high crimes and misdemeanors because Republican Senators from very red states aren’t willing to be the next Liz Cheney.
It’s one of the problems of majoritarianism. Whatever the majority says, goes. In the case of Liz Cheney 66.3% of Wyoming voters disagreed with her efforts to successfully impeach DJT. Do you think more than 1/2 of Republican U.S. Senators would face a similar outcome from hostile majorities in their states? Two from Wyoming certainly would.
The problem with majoritarianism is what do you do if the majority is wrong, which IMO, voters in those Red States are.
But we respect the outcome of their being wrong. They have the right to prevail in their wrongness, regardless of the consequences.
As far as citizen protesters that want to get arrested to protest a law or action, and that are willing to take whatever the consequences are by submitting to arrest and taking whatever the Judge decides for a sentence, I have respect for that. For that reason, I have the upmost respect for Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and tens of thousands of anonymous to history protesters of that era that willingly submitted to the majority in their persistence in being wrong and took their arrests and sentences without active resistance. They were principled. They were right on the merits and held a mirror up to the majority’s wrongness by submitting to arrest and consequences that the majority had established for the protester’s actions.
Modern day law defying protesters, not so much respect. They use violence against the police prior to arrest, violently resist arrest, they damage property, and then they try and escape accountability for doing so by anonymously fleeing. They lack the principle and sacrifice of the civil rights protesters of the 1950’s and 1960’s. They are anti-democratic in that they won’t honor the majority’s right in a democratic system to be wrong and persist in their wrongness.
@26: Controversial medical practices on minors is a multi-faceded discussion of various disciplines and parties. It is not transphobic to have a conversation.
@28, The only reason Nixon resigned rather than face trial in the U.S. Senate, was because you had the opposite dynamic. Voters in states like Barry Goldwater’s Arizona turned on Nixon. They would have voted 66% against Goldwater, and Senators from states like his. In that case the majority is write.
Democracy means respecting the majority’s right to be wrong and allowing them to persist in their wrongness, even if that means being arrested and jailed. No hiding behind a mask and fleeing the consequences of wrong laws or actions by the majority.
@30, you’re painting an entire coalition of millions as anti-democratic based on the actions of a minuscule minority when you could just say “i think breaking the law and resisting arrest is bad”
@33, Do those millions do anything to point out to police those using their protests as a shield to commit criminal acts? Nope. That makes them complicit after the fact.
@12: Kristofarian was killed last month in a domestic violence incident in which he was the suspected aggressor. The families are asking for privacy.
@23, You may be correct that they escape criminal liability but not civil liability.
Hitting a bystander, in and of itself, is not enough to win a civil case. That does not prove recklessness. People shoot at things and miss. That’s not negligence. If they are not criminally culpable, the person is shooting to prevent serious physical injury to themselves or others present, so that is a civilly reasonable thing to do at the risk to bystanders.
You need additional elements, which given the low-burden of proof and expanded consideration of what is a prudent way to act, can often be demonstrated in the civil context.
Then you have the additional issue that most American’s can vacate a civil jury award by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and still keep their house, cars, wages, pension, etc. They take a credit hit for a few years, but that’s small potatoes compared to being hounded by the party that got the award.
Either the shooter has liability insurance (e.g. homeowner’s or renter’s cover negligent acts even away from the residence) or they are wealthier than 80% of Americans.
A lawyer would take the case on a contingency basis provided a pre-lawsuit, or very early lawsuit, investigation shows the person they are suing has insurance or substantial assets outside of home equity and a few cars. Otherwise, they aren’t going to pursue a case where they have no way to collect a judgment from which their fees will be paid.
Stay tuned.
34, ok so now everyone is anti-democratic for not pointing out the obvious to the police, that some people are breaking the law and trying to get away with it. Got it.
@12, If Kristo (or GREENWOOD BOB)were here he would have to scream that Iran was guilty of a war crime because some of the weapons they are firing at Israel have killed civilians collaterally, or because their weapons missed the military targets they were trying to take out.
That would discredit their position that everyone that fights with Israel is a victim.
They would also have to accused Israel of War Crimes against Iranian people for the same reason, but wouldn’t be able to be intellectually credible because Iran has the same problem of killing civilians with collateral damage.
The current hostilities in the Israel/Iran war ends only two ways:
Iran pulls a South Africa and renounces uranium/plutonium enrichment with full transparency and submission to the IAEA.
The U.S. bombs Iran’s Fordo enrichment facility with a GBU 57 Bomb designed to penetrate 200 feet of earth to hit concrete protected bunkers. Only the B-2 is capable of delivering it.
Hence the movement of 26 military fuel tankers from the U.S. to the Middle East and Eastern Europe yesterday to support keeping U.S. fighters and bombers over Iranian airspace for bombing missions.
Apropos of nothing: How much poo flinging do you think you’d see, if you ended up watching the Shakespeare Monkeys bang out the Federalist Papers?
@24 “Where in the Bill of Rights do I find that citizen right?”
Citizens’ rights don’t need to be articulated, the Constitution limits government not rights of the people. They used to teach that in civics class.
@37, Yup, when they are concealed in the crowd such that police can’t pick them out, but crowd members could, and make themselves complicit by not doing so.
@20 gross. Keep it to yourself.
Not saying that I contribute much, I don’t comment that often, but Pheebs does every day, usually multiple times. Do they ever say anything of substance or just play devils advocate?
42, that’s not anti-democratic, it’s just the police failing to do their job
@42 do you call police to report drivers speeding or not using turn signals? Police aren’t able to spot every driver violating the democratically enacted laws when in traffic, so if you don’t go out of your way to point out those lawbreakers you are both complicit and anti-democratic. According to you anyway.
Who was the person who commented on Slog last week, “If you don’t march, I’ll assume you support Trump”?
Who would have guessed that 90% of Seattle supports Trump?
@45, No police department anywhere on the planet has ever been able to differentiate who the rock throwers are from a crowd of hundreds or who the vandals are. The camouflage is complete.
That is why they declare an unlawful assembly and order the crowd to disperse and courts uphold that. Without the help of the crowd who has the perspective of members of the crowd who can perceive its the dude in front of me, or next to me throwing shit or braken shit, they are undetectable. Someone outside the crowd won’t be able to pick them out. Someone four people away in the crowd won’t neccesarily be able to see the one throwing shit.
So depending on your reason for being there, the rest of the.crowds First Amendment expression is stripped away by causing the cops to order dispersal of the crowd or the crowd is the impenetrable camouflage from which more crime will occur until the camouflage is dispersed away. A few ruin it for the many.
What arrest occur are of those observable in their misdeeds on the edges of the crowd where there are enough cops to pull the offender into police lines, or the crowd is permissive and steps back from the person cops are attempting to get into custody.
.
@35 – Gawd I hope that is true. Makes total sense if true. Please be true
That Felon Mu$k’s Mein Trumpf is too stupid to get the irony of his music selection for his stupid party should strongly indicate how unfit Taco Donaldo is for the White House–or any public office, period.
@49: That’s awfully mean trolling, even for a pos.
@29 In that case, all women should probably have their breasts removed as soon as they grow in to prevent them from possibly getting breast cancer right?
@52 Well, to improve this analogy, if you could remove just a small percentage of skin that left them functioning, then sure, of course it would be a desirable procedure! To say nothing of if it were removing an overlapping mass of skin that most potential partners find unattractive/repugnant…
@48 do you report speeders and other traffic offenders police aren’t in position to observe themselves, and if not why do you hate democracy?
@43 Bmleon, re: @20: I usually just scroll past anything that idiot posts.
It’s not worth reading.