Antifa March in Seattle, Assaulting People and Damaging Businesses

Antifa members in Seattle on Jan. 5, 2020. (Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

A group of Antifa members and people connected to the Black Lives Matter movement marched in Seattle late on Feb. 17, assaulting people and inflicting damage on multiple businesses, according to reporters and other witnesses.

Video footage showed black-clad people assaulting others, who were recording the march, with ice and mace. Several clips showed one man riding a bicycle spraying a canister of mace at a small group who reporters said were leaving the march.

Katie Daviscourt of The Post Millennial news website reported that she was one of more than 10 people who were assaulted, and posted some videos of the violence.

While Seattle police officers were present at certain times during the night, “they made zero arrests, even after witnessing the assaults themselves,” she said in a tweet.

The Seattle Police Department told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement, “During last night’s protest one business had windows broken and several others were graffitied. No suspects could be identified at the time and no arrests were made. No 911 callers reported they were the victim of an assault related to this event, nor did any callers request medical attention.”

Videos and photographs were also released showing damage to businesses, including a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant.

Other people that night disputed the characterization of the event. One, an independent journalist who supports Antifa, said she threw a snowball at a livestreamer, but only after he had maced a crowd and followed her around. She also said he filmed the faces of the so-called black bloc, a core group of Antifa members.

One of the participants was identified by independent journalist and Antifa expert Andy Ngo as a known Antifa activist.

Participants had promoted the march with a post that stated, “Stand up. Fight back,” with a picture of a black fist outlined in red.

Marchers were upset about police officers late on Feb. 16 fatally shooting a man who was armed with a knife and had moved toward them. Around the time the march took place, police officials released body-camera video and audio of a 911 call related to the shooting.

The call indicated Port of Seattle officers alerting police that there was a “suicidal subject” with a knife to his neck. The man was described as a white male wearing a black coat and black pants.

The man, confronted by officers, refused to get down on the ground and surrender the weapon, according to the body-camera footage. As he moved toward the officers, they fired the fatal shots.

The officers were placed on administrative leave while the incident is under investigation.

Antifa has remained active this year, primarily holding events on the West Coast. Activists used snow to block police vehicles over the weekend in Seattle; in Portland, Oregon, last week, they smashed windows and threw snowballs at police officers.