SEATTLE (Reuters) – Dozens were arrested and many police officers wounded in clashes around Seattle’s biggest Black Lives Matter protest in weeks on Saturday, police said, with renewed energy sparked by violent clashes between activists and federal agents in the outskirts of Portland, Oregon.
Police said officers used non-lethal weapons in an attempt to disperse thousands of protesters in the late afternoon after protesters set fire to the construction site of a juvenile detention center and a King County court.
At 10 pm (0500 GMT), the police had “made 45 arrests in connection with today’s disturbances in the East Precinct,” Seattle police wrote in a Twitter post.
He said, “21 officers suffered injuries after being struck by bricks, rock mortars / other explosives. Most officers were able to return to duty. One was treated in a hospital for a knee injury.”
Police had previously said they were working to ensure the city’s fire department access to the fire, which they said was started by a dozen people who were part of a large group of protesters.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he expanded the deployment of federal police in Seattle, enraging local officials and fueling anger among protesters.
“We saw what was happening in Portland and we wanted to make sure that our city stood in solidarity with other moms,” said Lhorna Murray, who attended on behalf of the newly formed Wall of Moms Seattle, replicating a tactic of Portland protests where mothers, dressed in yellow They form a human wall between the protesters and the police.
The tactics of federal officials in Portland have sparked the ire of local leaders and Democrats in Congress, who say those officers are using excessive force and complain about the Trump administration’s overreaching.
The United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Brian Moran, said in a statement Friday that federal agents are stationed in Seattle to protect federal property and the work done on those buildings.
The Trump administration has also sent federal police to Chicago, Kansas City, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, over those mayors’ objections.
Reports from Greg Scruggs in Seattle; Additional reports from Brad Brooks; Grant McCool, Daniel Wallis and William Mallard edition
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