OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Patrol charged five people for purposefully blocking I-5 in downtown Seattle on Jan. 6 in a protest, according to a press release from WSP.
The five are facing charges for second degree criminal trespass, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstruction. Two others are being investigated as well.
Shortly after 1 p.m. on Sat., Jan. 6, all northbound lanes of I-5 were closed for five hours after 12 vehicles were stopped and abandoned. Protestors reportedly cut through a WSDOT safety fence and got onto the freeway, with eight protestors binding themselves together.
While WSP gathered equipment to clear the large crowd, threatening weather caused the crowd to disperse before any on-site arrests happened. The abandoned vehicles were searched before being towed away.
WSP says that protests that have previously illegally moved onto and closed freeways have led to deadly outcomes across the nation and that it is committed to deterring future incidents.
“As I noted soon after the freeway closure incident, this is not about the rights of free speech or assembly,” said WSP Chief John R. Batiste. “There can be no doubt that the Washington State Patrol respects and protects those rights. This is about holding people accountable for unlawful and dangerous acts that put the traveling public, our first responders, and yes, the protestors themselves, in danger.”
The investigation from WSP is ongoing and includes the review of over 40 hours of on-site video and social media posts. WSP says the investigative efforts are warranted due to the extreme level of danger the situation created.
“Stepping foot on a freeway to highlight your own individual cause is a self-centered act that is dangerous, foolhardy, disruptive, and most assuredly illegal,” said Batiste. “We have asked for public assistance in identifying suspected law breakers during otherwise legal protests before and we do so when we see behavior that is too dangerous to be tolerated. We will exhaust all possible investigatory efforts to catch those responsible and deter others from engaging in similarly dangerous behavior in the future.”
