SEATTLE — A protest that was held in Seattle “in solidarity with Kenosha,” on Monday, August 24, ended up in multiple fires being set according to the police.
The protest started around 9 p.m. on Cal Anderson park as a demonstration over the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake. Videos uploaded to social media by Kitty Shackleford show that people in the crowd had umbrellas, wooden shields and face coverings. They headed towards the West Precinct where they threw objects, broke some windows and painted graffiti on the walls. The SPD reported that a nearby coffee shop had its glasses shattered.
According to the police, later protesters headed to the East Precinct where some individuals climbed over a chain-link fence and set a fire next to the building. A streamer of the protest, who hid his identity, showed that there were some people vandalizing a police shuttle. In Kitty Shackleford’s videos it can also be seen that some protesters were throwing trash cans and objects in the street in order to block them. Fireworks and small fires were set off and Komo News reported that an Amazon Go store was vandalized as well.
Officers issued a dispersal order in the protest and arrested one person for investigation of arson. The SPD said that one officer was injured.
The police also reported an investigation of an individual throwing multiple incendiary devices at an office building on 4th Avenue South but it is unclear if this incident was tied to the protest.
