Bellevue, WA – On Tuesday evening, May 2, the Bellevue City Council voted to adopt an ordinance making protests at U.S. Congressman Adam Smith’s house illegal. The ordinance changes the city’s definition of criminal conduct to include targeted residential protests.

The ordinance states that any gathering of people “with four or more persons” in a protest that is “targeted, directed or focused at a particular occupant of the residence” would be a gross misdemeanor. “Protest means any protest, demonstration or picketing activity including but not limited to marching, congregating, standing, posting, parading, demonstrating, picketing, with our without signs, with or without making audible or amplified noise.” A gross misdemeanor of this kind can carry a year-long jail sentence and a $5000 fine.

This ordinance comes after a sustained campaign against Adam Smith, House representative for Washington’s 9th congressional district. In protest of Smith’s failure to halt the flow of U.S. military aid to Israel or to withhold U.S. taxpayer dollars from being spent on Trump’s war on Iran, members of Seattle Against War, Troublemakers, and BDS Seattle, with support from other community members, have repeatedly shown up at Smith’s house in Bellevue to present their demands.

The protests in the rich Bellevue suburb were protected under First Amendment rights to protest, occurred during daylight hours, and abided by the noise ordinances against the use of amplified sound. Protesters held up banners that read, “Your rep funds genocide!” and signs that call out Adam Smith as a warmonger and a war profiteer.

Speaking against the ordinance at the city council meeting, Joseph Ostheller, a member of Seattle Against War, said, “We have been to his office, which he is never in. We have been to his town halls, which he censors. We have been to his speaking events, which he releases without adequate time to attend. He has systematically closed off all avenues for us to speak to him directly and to have our concerns heard. The escalation to be at his house is because he leaves us no other options.”

Zionists packed the city council meeting to support the ordinance. One speaker for the ordinance, who called himself David E., said he was a proud Zionist. The president of the HOA in Adam Smith’s neighborhood, claimed falsely that protesters “were like a mob, using blow horns at 2 a.m.” The composition of the meeting, Zionists and rich neighbors of Adam Smith, showed this ordinance was dreamt up by a small group of people in power using their connections to weaponize the legal processes. The ordinance is in direct response to the targeted protests against Adam Smith, and he has called in his Zionist friends and the city council to construct another barrier between the people in power and those impacted by their decisions.

The city attorney spoke to the council and explained to them how the ordinance was drafted and the legal rationale for its implementation. The city manager and the city attorney were asked to come up with this ordinance to criminalize free speech on behalf of “those affected.”

After the comment period, the Zionists and their allies left the meeting, not staying the extra two hours until the study session and the subsequent vote on the issue. Activists against the ordinance stayed until the very end, when the council read out the reasons why they were voting to shut down people’s democratic right to protest.

One council member, Lynne Robinson, said, without providing detail, “I have been the target of harassment and know how scary it can be.” It goes without saying that even before this ordinance passed, targeted harassment, stalking, and death threats were all already illegal. Another council member, Claire Sumadiwirya, said, “This is such a hard decision, but I have to protect my family,” even though they had not been the target of any such protests. Both voted in favor of the ordinance.

The ordinance will go into effect in one month.

Activists were not surprised by the result, as city council meetings are notoriously opaque. The real decisions are often made behind closed doors, with public comment being performative at best. Nevertheless, activists left in high spirits, because these attacks only show how weak and afraid those in power really are in the face of the power of the people.

Protests at Smith’s home will continue, bigger and louder than before, until the ordinance takes effect in June. Seattle Against War will also be exploring every avenue to challenge this new roadblock.

#BellevueWA #WA #SeattleAgainstWar #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarMovement

Bellevue, WA – On Friday, January 19, a crowd of about 30 people rallied near the Bridge Industrial office in Bellevue to protest the construction of a mega warehouse complex in South Tacoma.

“Bridge Industrial, corrupt and rude! We don’t like your attitude!” and “If you pollute our neighborhoods, we’ll make sure you’re gone for good!” chants echoed through the glossy skyscrapers that surround the company’s office.

Catelynn Henion from Climate Alliance of the South Sound explained the situation saying, “Bridge Industrial is willing to pave over our wetlands, pollute our neighborhoods, and profit off of the city’s dismissal of South Tacoma.”

Members of Climate Alliance of the South Sound, The Conversation 253, 350Tacoma, Black Panther Party of WA, Issaquah Student League, and many other South Sound communities oppose this project due to its racist and destructive nature.

If completed, this mega warehouse complex would pave over 125 acres of park-like green space in a historically red-lined neighborhood, bringing pollution and traffic, and ultimately lower life expectancies in its wake.

After several speeches, the crowd drummed, chanted and marched to the office building and entered the lobby. The chant “Global warming is war, of the rich upon the poor” rang throughout the entire floor as they entered building.

Once inside, another speaker warned about the horrible health impacts of diesel fuel fumes and other air pollutants – pollutants that would be brought with the 10,000-plus additional vehicle trips caused by the mega warehouse if constructed.

The energetic crowd then moved directly to the Bridge Industrial office, located on the second floor, to demand BI cancel the project. However, no one was in the office. Sources on site said it was because BI had learned about this action and canceled their workday.

Talison Crosby from Climate Alliance of the South Sound spoke about the Bridge Industrial office closure, saying, “Our action cost them an entire day of work. That impacts their bottom line – it costs them money. They haven’t listened to our concerns, so we’re making them listen by speaking in the only language they understand – profit.”

Bellevue police arrived at the scene almost as soon as the protesters entered the building, then issued a dispersal order so the crowd moved back outside the building. There, more speakers shared the importance of fighting racist projects like this, and building towards the future they want and deserve.

Bunchy Carter of the Black Panther Party of Washington said, “The reality is, environmental destruction is imperialistic at its core. The resources, and control of them, mean more than the lives of the masses of poor and oppressed people. We demand the cease of planning the construction of these mega warehouses and an immediate redirection of those funds to empower the communities you are attempting to displace.”

The event was closed out by singing, drumming and chanting “We will not let this warehouse pass, Power to the working class!”

As of today, Bridge Industrial has not begun construction, though the city has approved the permits that will allow them to begin building.

Henion shared her feelings surrounding the future of this fight, stating, “Bridge Industrial is terrified when confronted by those it will impact because they know that there is power in people. As long as this warehouse remains a possibility people will stand up and fight it as they have always done in the face of injustice.”

#BellevueWA #TacomaWA #Environment #CASS #Feature