SEATTLE, Wash. — When pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters met face-to-face in Seattle as May Day demonstrations were underway, obviously things started to get heated – until the surprisingly mellow finish.
Let’s take a quick look at how this unfolded.
Among the several protests on Monday was a conservative, gun-supporting, anti-socialist group that gathered in downtown's Westlake Park late in the afternoon. They told KIRO 7 News they gathered as a counter-protest to May Day demonstrations.
After marching several blocks in Belltown, the pro-Trump demonstrators returned to Westlake Park, where they were later approached by protesters dressed in black. An initial exchange was intense. Here’s part of what was said.
— Anti-Trump protester: "You f-------g voted for that p---y grabbing son of a b---h."
— Trump supporter: "We can't get anywhere because you won't have a conversation with me."
— Anti-Trump protester: No I won't have a god---n conversation with someone who voted for that god---n racist.
Police physically separated the two groups as they clashed – yelling their views at one another through the barrier officers built with their bicycles.
The first person was arrested during the shouting match. He threw rocks at a Trump supporter, police said.
For about a minute, the pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators appeared to civilly listen to each other, but shouts arose again when abortion was mentioned.
— Anti-Trump protester "He is approaching upon my reproductive rights He is encroaching on my rights as a woman …"
— Trump supporter: "How is he encroaching on your rights as a woman?"
— Anti-Trump protester: "If I want to have a fucking abortion …"
— Trump supporter: "… You can do that … I just don't want to pay for it."
You can watch this exchange from our Facebook feed. Scroll to 1:51 to watch. It continues until nearly 2:01.
BREAKING: Protests are underway in downtown Seattle. A peaceful demonstration just wrapped up, and now unpermitted events are unfolding. Follow along with us as we cover these events for KIRO 7 News at 5 p.m. [>> kiro.tv/MayDaySea] PHOTOS >> http://kiro.tv/MayDayPICS-2017
Posted by KIRO 7 News on Monday, May 1, 2017
The confrontation fizzled when the Trump supporters departed on their second march, but later they returned to Westlake Park.
This time instead of clashing, some rolled marijuana joints on the back of a protest signs.
“Look we all fight, but then we roll some weed and come together,” one protester said.
“Doesn’t matter the political party,” another protester said with a smile.
Seattle police still had to issue a dispersal order to demonstrators in Westlake Park. Five people were arrested overall during Seattle demonstrations. Tensions rose slightly later in the evening, but it was mostly between officers and protesters as Seattle police attempted to clear the area.
This year's unpermitted May Day events were relatively calm in Seattle, compared to the ones since 2012 – the first time in the anarchists disrupted local May Day events with violence. However, chaos hit in Olympia in what police called a riot. Read about Olympia's May Day here.
Cox Media Group
