Tagged: May Day protests

Seattle police are asking the public for photos and video clips taken during this year’s May Day riot.

“Detectives have begun the long, difficult task of investigating the violence, vandalism, and other nastiness which marred this year’s otherwise peaceful May Day rallies,” police said.

Prosecutors have charged five May Day protestors with felonies following last week’s confrontation with police in downtown Seattle.

The standoff between anti-capitalist marchers and Seattle police escalated quickly around dusk on May 1, and before long, bottles and rocks were flying toward police, pepper spray and blast balls toward protesters.

Last week’s tumultuous May Day protests got many of us wondering: What is May 1 all about, anyway?

It’s been a workers’ holiday in Europe for years, but when did it become a big deal in the U.S.?

SUNY Empire State College history professor Jacob Remes says last week’s hubbub—from the union involvement to the spotlight on immigration, to the anarchist presence and police response—all fit right in to May Day’s radical history.

Anarchists have launched a fundraising campaign in an effort to help pay for the damages two Capitol Hill businesses incurred during this year’s May Day riot.

The campaign, called “Smash the State: Just Not Bill’s,” says its aim is to be “mending fences (or more accurately, windows), within the community,” specifically Bills Off Broadway and Sun Liquor, both of which were vandalized during the anti-capitalism march.

Seattle police said they’re continuing to investigate crimes committed in the course of an unruly May Day demonstration, but that they’re proud of how officers handled themselves.

Capt. Chris Fowler said Seattle police incorporated some important lessons from last year’s May Day protests. They had much longer to plan this year, even treating a small March 15 protest as a “rehearsal.”