The crowd of hundreds was energetic and upbeat, chanting as cars driving down Alki Avenue honked horns and revved engines in support.
Protesters waved Mexican flags and signs: “Immigrants built this country” and “The only minority destroying the country is the 1%.”
About two hours into the march, Seattle police arrested two demonstrators at a West Seattle protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The demonstrators had gathered for the “Protest Against ICE” at 2 p.m. at Alki Beach Park and marched over a mile north to Alki Beach Pier, where the group paused for speeches, music and dancing with the Seattle skyline in the background.
They were on the way back to their starting place around 4 p.m. when marked Seattle police vehicles pulled up alongside the crowd and officers jumped out of vans and detained one protester on the sidewalk. The person, described as an adult, had assaulted another protester in front of officers, Seattle police Detective Brian Pritchard said.
The crowd then briefly blocked traffic on Alki Avenue, about a quarter-mile southwest of the pier. Police used a loudspeaker to tell the crowd to move out of the street. Officers threatened to use crowd-control weapons including tear gas and pepper spray but did not use them.
Officers then arrested a second protester, dressed in all black with a black face mask. That person was escorted into one of the police vans. Pritchard said the juvenile had “stood in front of a patrol vehicle that had lights activated to prevent it from moving.” The child was arrested, identified and released to a parent, according to police.
Nobody was injured.
All law enforcement involved in the arrests appeared to be city police. Shortly after the arrests, police departed and the crowd continued south, waving signs and chanting.
In an executive order signed on Inauguration Day, Trump instructed immigration authorities and the Department of Justice to hasten the deportation of undocumented people, saying the U.S. was being “invaded.”
Trump has also promised to end guaranteed citizenship for children born in the United States — an effort blocked by a federal judge in Seattle.
