The unrest mirrored violence at a Seattle May Day march past year, when crowds threw bottles and wrenches at police, who responded with pepper spray and flash grenades. None of the police officers were said to be seriously injured, and the one hit with a Molotov cocktail was not burned. Police said there was some property damage, including broken window at a residential building.
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May Day anti-capitalists gathered in a violent protest across Seattle after a peaceful immigration and workers’ rights protest concluded on Sunday afternoon.
Later in the evening an anti-capitalist march was slated to begin in a downtown park. They did not have a permit from city officials, according to Q13Fox.
Police in riot gear used pepper spray to disperse the protesters, who were dressed in black and had gathered at a park before taking to the streets carrying signs.
“Upon determining that the crowd presents an imminent risk to public safety or that large-scale property destruction appears likely authorities ordered protesters to disperse”, Seattle police said, in a statement.
A peaceful day of protest once again erupted into violence as anti-capitalist demonstrators clashed with Seattle police.
Last year, police in the city arrested 16 during similar demonstrations.
One officer sustained head injuries from a rock, another was struck by a Molotov cocktail that did not explode, and another was bitten, the Seattle police department said on Twitter late Sunday.
Steve Wilske, Seattle Police assistant chief, called the afternoon march “very successful”.
While in Latin America, in the early Sunday morning hours, hundreds of thousands of Cubans came out for a May Day parade through Havana’s Revolution Square, with workers were wearing red shirts as Cuban flags fluttered in the wind. About 200 people finished the march.
Metal rods, a stick and a molotov cocktail were among the weapons confiscated by local police while Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Eastern Washington seized a trove of “incendiary devices” allegedly related to the protest. They held signs that read “Long Live May Day” and “Stop Police Terror”.
Demonstrators repeatedly called out Trump for his remarks about immigrants, workers and women. And they chanted, “No justice, no peace!”
Across the bay in Oakland, close to 1,000 people marched in the Fruitvale district to raise awareness for workers, housing and immigrant rights and denounce Trump.
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Police say the Los Angeles rally has been peaceful. Organizers urged members of the crowd to “wear black in solidarity with our comrades at the march and around the world”.
