SEATTLE — Ten people were arrested after participants in an anti-capitalist march meandered through downtown Seattle on May Day, vandalizing cars, confronting police officers and sparking minor street fires.
On Friday, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray lauded the police department for wrangling the protesters.
“Seattle police officers conducted themselves with admirable patience and professionalism during May Day yesterday and throughout the night,” Murray said. “Their training and preparation showed: Officers kept order in our streets and supported the marchers in their peaceful expression of their First Amendment rights. Arrests were limited in number, and damage to property was kept to a minimum.”
Protesters chanted against police brutality, among other causes.
Violence has plagued May Day in Seattle during the past two years, with protesters challenging police in the streets and sometimes stealing the thunder of much larger daytime events calling for immigrant and worker rights. Last year, police arrested 18 people from a crowd that pelted them with rocks and bottles. Storefronts in downtown Seattle have also been smashed in previous protests.
On Thursday, police were out in force on bicycles, foot and horseback, supplementing their numbers with officers from several other jurisdictions. Protesters started trash can fires in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. One arrest came after a brick was hurled at police.