SEATTLE (AP) — Dozens of participants at an immigration reform rally blocked a major downtown Seattle intersection for more than three hours Wednesday afternoon.
By 6 p.m., most of the crowd had left. Police then arrested 21 protesters who remained in the intersection.
The protesters included members of groups in the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition. Police spokeswoman Renee Witt says the last remaining protesters sent police a clear message that “they want to be arrested and they’ll stay here all night if they’re not.” They were arrested for investigation of failure to respond to a lawful order and pedestrian interference.
OneAmerica spokesman Charlie McAteer says immigration overhaul isn’t at the forefront of Americans’ attention, in part because of the Gulf oil spill. So he says the protesters decided to take advantage of a heavy traffic day — with a Seattle Mariners home game — to dramatize the issue.
