[OLYMPIA] – (MTN) The Washington state legislature overwhelmingly passed HB 1016, which would make June 19, Juneteenth, a legal state holiday. The bill had 39 sponsors and passed in the Democratic-led Senate 47-1. The measure passed in the House with similar bipartisan support in February, 89-9.
According to Juneteenth.com, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.
The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
General Granger read several general order’s upon his arrival, the most significant being general order three. “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
Texas was the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday in 1980. The traditional celebrations included barbecue meat, dressing in fine clothes, and exchanging books. During slavery, food was not plentiful and meat was a luxury. In some slave states, enslaved peoples were not permitted to wear nice clothes. Learning to read and write was illegal, and slaves who learned to read or write outside of their duties could be blinded, have fingers or hand cut off, or even executed.
The movement to make Juneteenth a state holiday in Washington gained momentum during social justice protests in the summer of 2020 over the death of George Floyd.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) A Washington state man pleaded guilty today to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Cameron Shea, 25, a leader of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, pled guilty to federal conspiracy and hate crime charges for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism. Shea was arrested on February 26, 2020, in Kirkland, Washington outside of the Totem Lake Fred Meyers where he worked. The FBI made the arrest with support from the Kirkland police department.
CAMERON SHEA NEO-NAZII AND WHAT IS ATOMWAFFEN
Shea pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States: interference with federally-protected activities because of religion; mailing threatening communications; and cyberstalking. He also pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion.
Shea and three co-conspirators were charged with conspiring via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and advocates they wanted to threaten in retaliation for the victims’ work exposing anti-Semitism. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. The group created posters, which featured Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening messages, to deliver or mail to the journalists or advocates the group targeted. Local KING 5 reporter Chris Ingalls did several reports on Atomwaffen and was a target of the organization.
Shea will be sentenced on June 28 and faces up to 15 years in prison.
[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Sixty-one years ago, the FDA approved oral contraceptives, also known as the pill, as a form of birth control in the United States. Decades later, the pill has expanded as a tool to fight moderate to severe acne, control menstrual cycles, migraines, and endometriosis. The ability to access contraceptives remains a surprising challenge in the United States. Dr. Sophia Yen, co-founder and CEO of Pandia Health, is working to change that.
Pandia Health, a Bay Area based telemedicine company that recently expanded into Washington state, provides women reproductive health services through the Internet. “We bring birth control to wherever you have Internet and a mailbox,” said Dr. Yen. “If you could imagine in rural parts of the country where the nearest doctor is two or three hours away, this is a problem with access.”
The timing of this new choice couldn’t be better for western Washington residents. Planned Parenthood recently announced they were closing its Seattle First Hill, Shelton, and Kent facilities. The closures are due to slashed Medicaid reimbursements from the federal government, making continued operation impossible. Insurance rules on when patients can refill prescriptions adds to the complexity of maintaining reproductive health.
“For just $20 once a year, you have access for the entire year for any follow-up questions as much as you want. Most birth control pills are generic, so it’s less than 50 cents a day,” Dr. Yen said. “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, if you do have insurance, no copay, and no deductible.”
The $1.9 trillion Save America package passed by the Biden Administration capped ACA premiums at 8.5% of income, and COBRA payments are covered 100% through September. These benefits and expanded enrollment will help reverse the trend of uninsured Americans, which added 2.3 million people under the Trump Administration.
Dr. Yen explained her company serves patients in ten states and can ship birth control to all 50 states and Washington D.C.. There is an additional benefit to telemedicine; legally, you don’t have to reside in one of the ten states served by Pandia Health. Suppose you’re physically in a state where a telemedicine physician provides services when you complete your online evaluation. In that case, you can have your birth control shipped to your home state.
“We’re promoting a kind of birth control tourism. If you happen to be in Seattle at the airport, you could fill out the questionnaire. Then we can deliver it to Kansas or Arkansas or whatever state you reside in.”
In 1988, the original high-dose birth control pill was taken off the market. Today a woman can choose from 40 different birth control pills, some with low-dose and high-dose variants, that use eight possible progesterones. If that sounds complicated, it can be. The medical community is just beginning to understand the differences these options can have on the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color) community.
“Medicine is based on a Caucasian female model,” she continued. “It doesn’t [account] for a person of color. We are looking and asking our customers to self-report their ethnicity so we can correlate it with side effects and see which birth control works best.”
Not only is Dr. Yen an advocate of female reproductive rights and services, but her company also has a program called Pandia Health Social Good. “If you can’t afford [birth control] and you can’t afford 50 cents a day to cover your birth control, you can apply to our birth control fund. And if you have money, you can donate to the birth control fund and take a tax deduction.”
Updated: April 5, 2021 @ 9:30 AM to include a statement from the Marysville police.
[MARYSVILLE] – (MTN) Parents and students gathered in Comeford Park on Saturday to express their anger at the Marysville School District’s handling of threats against students. JJ Frank, the parent of a student threatened with death due to her race, held a press conference with city, county, and Black leaders, speaking to a diverse crowd of supporters.
“I’m here in the capacity as a father,” Frank told the crowd. “I’m hearing that these students that made these death threats said it was just a joke. When another student threatens another student’s life and says that they want to kill him, that is not a joke.”
“When another student threatens another student’s life that threatens all of our children’s lives, let us not turn a blind eye because these were Black students and minority students that our lives are any less,” Frank continued. “Black lives do matter.”
Two students at Marysville Pilchuck High School made death threats in December 2020. In that incident, which Malcontent News reported, the students received a short suspension and moved to a different high school. The Snohomish County prosecutor officers did not pursue charges stating that one family did not want to press charges and the students posed a low risk after a threat assessment. They were both referred to a deferment program through the juvenile court. Malcontent News is not naming the students or victims as they are juveniles.
Frank spoke about the incident during his speech on Saturday in vivid detail. “They said, what about that n*****’s sister? They said, yeah, we want to kill that n******.” This is in the police report.”
“They said that they wanted to kill my daughter, my 15-year-old daughter,” Frank said fighting back his tears as Black leaders gathered around him to provide support.
Screen capture of the Snapchat threat made on the same account as a student that made death threats in a December 2020 Zoom meeting
In the second incident, a January 2021 Snapchat message stating, “killing minorities soon,” showing a white hand holding a handgun, was made from the same phone and e-mail address of one of the students involved in the Zoom meeting. That student denies that they made the post and that a 20-years old relative did it. The 20-year old has not been named but is a son of a Marysville police officer. Because of the conflict of interest, Marysville police moved the criminal investigation to the Snohomish County Sheriff.
Frank accused the Marysville School District of misrepresented the status of the students after this second incident. He claims the district told him the students had been removed from school again, which they haven’t.
In response to growing media coverage, the school district released a statement. “In recent days, information about incidents against students of color, specifically Black/African American students, were shared publicly in the news, on social media, and through community forums. These incidents included online threats made against Black/African American students and confirms Marysville School District’s recognition and acknowledgment that racism and hate continue to exist in our community.”
“We will strive to do everything in our power to make certain that each student we serve feels safe physically, socially, emotionally, and free from racial or other forms of discrimination.”
For Marysville residents, many we spoke to expressed concern about the existing threats, given the history of a prior mass shooting event at Marysville Pilchuck High School. Later in the afternoon, a Black Lives Matter rally was held on the Salvation Army’s roof about a mile away. As a band played and a small group solicited support from the cars passing by, many drivers honked and waved. One person confronted the group briefly, asking when they would start breaking windows. A couple of pickup trucks circled the group, with one driver making a white power symbol as they created a black cloud of exhaust.
According to a KOMO news article, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s department has completed its investigation into the January incident and has recommended criminal charges to the prosecutor’s office.
The Marysville Police also released a statement on April 2. ” I want to update the Marysville community that this investigation is now complete. The Major Crimes Detectives from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office have referred this case to the Snohomish County Prosecutor with a recommended charge of hate crime, RCW 9A.36.080(7). The Sheriff’s office can answer further questions on their investigation.”
Frank and his supporters want further action. “If Jason Thompson, who’s on administrative leave, and Lori Knudson acting deputy superintendent, Rod Merrell, and the consortium consultants do not resign, we are asking Vanessa Edwards, the school board president and the board of directors to use their authority to terminate their employment immediately. This leadership must end, and enough is enough.”
Because it is a holiday weekend, the Marysville School District, the Snohomish County Prosector’s Office, and a public information officer with the Snohomish County Sheriff were not available for comment.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Over the past year, racial incidents have occurred in multiple suburban school districts highlighting inequality in our schools. In Kirkland, old wounds reopened from an incident at Juanita High School, while in Marysville, an ongoing criminal investigation is looking into death threats at Pilchuck High School.
In Marysville, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department is investigating racist threats made by a relative of a Marysville Police officer. The unnamed 20-year old allegedly used the account of a Marysville High School student to send a Snapchat image holding a handgun, with the caption “Getting ready to kill minorities.” The Snapchat account used was the same account of a 16-year old student suspended earlier this year for making death threats to Black students in a Zoom meeting.
Our coverage and full interview with dr. janice greene of the Snohomish county naacp
“You have our kids getting ready to go back to school. They’re going to be face-to-face, you’ve got people threatening their lives and there’s doesn’t seem to be anything happening,” said Dr. Janice Greene, President of the Snohomish County NAACP. “Children of color are going to [that] school. They don’t feel protected. They can’t. How do you learn in that environment?”
Located about 30 miles north of downtown Seattle, Marysville borders the Tulalip Indian Reservation. The community has experienced rapid growth in the last 20 years, with more than 65,000 residents calling the city home. Once known as Strawberry City with a quaint downtown, Marysville has transformed into a bedroom community next to a vast outlet shopping center and sprawling casino complex. Before COVID-19, bumper-to-bumper traffic clogged Interstate-5 with commuters, gamblers, and shoppers.
When Marysville officials learned that a police officer’s relative made the threat, the county sheriff department took over the case. Officials say that the investigation will conclude in April. However, Washington governor Jay Inslee has ordered a return to in-class instruction by April 19, 2021.
“You’re sending our kids back into school with threats hanging in the air,” Dr. Greene went on to say. “People are not being held accountable with that. People not having to deal with the consequences of their behavior.”
Dr. Greene also talked about the challenges for victims of racial incidents. “I’m concerned about the way we keep pulling our young people that are racially traumatized out in front of people to tell their story over and over again. So we retraumatize our children.”
She added, “I’m going to say Marysville right now is at the crux of it, but that’s not. They’re not the only ones.” To both those points, Kirkland’s Lake Washington School District highlights both of these challenges.
An incident at Kirkland Juanita High School has remerged. In early 2020, a conflict between students devolved into a Black student being called a racial slur. A school guard who intervened is also accused of using a racial slur in the incident. In that incident, it isn’t clear what action the District took against the guard or offending student. As COVID-19 gripped the region less than two-months later, community attention shifted to remote learning.
Over the summer, the high school wrestled with its mascot, “The Rebels.” Some viewed the imagery as too close to the Confederate flag. Historically, a rebel was picked as the mascot because Juanita High School was founded as an alternative learning school. During the 1980s, the artwork of the mascot was modified to add stars and bars with more than a passing resemblance to the Confederate battle flag. In the end, students voted to eliminate the mascots and become the ravens.
We reached out to the Lake Washington School District for additional information, and they released a statement. “Lake Washington School District has been made aware that there are concerns being shared in the community about an incident that occurred over a year ago at Juanita High School. The District is reviewing the incident in further detail and has communicated directly with stakeholders on this matter.”
“Lake Washington School District is committed to providing safe and inclusive learning and working environments for our students and staff.”
We reached out to the parties involved, but none of them wanted to comment on the record. Our ongoing investigation has learned that a public records request was recently made into the incident.
As for the next steps, Dr. Greene had a clear vision for Marysville. “We would like to see appropriate charges and actions for the young people that made the threats [and] for the 20-year old that was holding the gun. We’d also like for Snohomish County [to] put some type of oversight so that we can see what’s going on outside of the school districts. So you have a community-type oversight, so we can address these issues when they come up.”
In both communities, it appears fast action won’t be forthcoming. Students are returning to classrooms after a polarizing election year and George Floyd’s death. Protests in more than 650 cities and towns across the United States erupted – including Kirkland and Marysville. Students have interacted within tighter groups over the last year due to COVID. Polarized conversations on politics and race are unreconciled, just as children and teens are coming back together to learn. It can be a powderkeg, and historically, Marysville Pilchuck High School is no stranger to gun violence.
[SEATTLE] – (MTN) A person is in custody after carjacking a black Honda, driving it through a group of protesters, and colliding with multiple parked vehicles. Two different events converged in downtown Seattle as Black Lives Matter protesters marched from the West Precinct into the Amazon South Lake Union campus.
a carjacker drives through a black lives matter protest in Seattle is later arrested
The march was to commemorate 300 days of continuous protest in Seattle and started at Cal Anderson Park. About 200 peaceful protesters marched to the West Precinct, where several speakers addressed the group, including City Council candidate Nikkita Oliver. The group was followed by a heavy police presence, with over a dozen police vehicles visible on the surrounding blocks and many bike officers just out of sight.
As the group approached the intersection of Virginia, Fairview, and Boren, the carjacker attempted to turn on Virginia, finding it blocked. The carjacker struck a cyclist as protesters scattered. Seattle police bike officer following the protesters rode into the intersection to a scene of chaos. Police officers asked if anyone was injured. A destroyed bicycle lay on the ground, but there were no reported injuries to the officers’ amazement.
Video captured on the scene shows protesters running in two directions while a car brigade moves to protect the group. Another video shows a person narrowly missed by the fleeing car as it makes a u-turn on Boren. The driver then collides with several parked vehicles before wrecking at Denny and Fairview.
A Seattle Police photo shows the Honda wrecked after colliding with several parked cars and striking a fire hydrant.
A diverse group of protesters representing Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and insurrectionary anarchists have been marching and engaging in direct action since May 2020. The three groups at times march together using different tactics and seeking a variety of goals. Last night’s march was Black-led, with organizers admonishing those in the group trying to take direct action.
[MARYSVILLE] Extracurricular activity can open doors for secondary education and help lay a foundation for continued growth. Online threats toward a target list of Black students in December 2020 have spilled over into ongoing hate speech and targeting through social media.
On December 14, 2020, in an Associated Student Body Junior Leadership virtual meeting, things took an ugly turn for Marysville Pilchuck High School students. Two students during a Zoom meeting stated, “let’s kill all Black people,” and then went on to identify several Black students by name in the call.
A criminal investigation followed, and Marysville police interviewed two impacted Black families. According to police and a press release from the NAACP, one family stated they did not want to pursue charges. The two students that made the statements received suspensions from school and transferred to a different facility.
On January 28, 2021, a different student came forward and provided images of Snapchat conversations. In one of the screenshots, one of the students involved in the December incident was brandishing a handgun with the caption, “killing minorities soon.” The student who reported this went on to state this wasn’t the first time this type of comment was made.
The Marysville School District released a statement saying in part, “[The Marysville School District] will absolutely not tolerate hateful, racist speech or actions. Our job is to denounce hate and intimidation where we work, create environments where students feel safe to learn, and hold students accountable for their words or actions consistent with the law.”
In a press release the Snohomish County NAACP wrote, “We call for the Marysville Police Department and the Snohomish County Prosecutor to pursue the issue as a hate crime and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent the law allows.“
Marysville Pilchuck High School is no stranger to gun violence. On October 24, 2014, 15-year-old freshman Jaylen Fryberg shot five, killing four, before committing suicide in the school cafeteria. A year later, his father, Raymond Fryberg, was arrested and convicted for illegally purchasing the gun used in the mass shooting.
In December of 2018, the school was placed on lockdown after a group of students got into a brawl. There was a large police response and the campus was closed at 12:45 PM in that incident.
It became a tale of two cities as vigils and protests in honor of Breonna Taylor swept the United States on Saturday. Seattle and Portland both had vigils and marches with two very different outcomes from Direct Action marchers.
In Seattle, activists gathered outside Cal Anderson Park for a candlelight memorial and chalk art before marching into downtown Seattle. SPD met the group with a heavy and aggressive presence as they marched downtown and to the waterfront. Smaller groups splintered off and broke windows. The Seattle Police used a level of force not seen since November, resulting in fourteen arrests.
Activists created a candle and flower memorial for Breonna Taylor in Seattle, Washington
Later on Saturday, Direct Action protesters gathered in Occidental Park, where one of the activists chastized the group for lack of planning and poor tactics. KOMO released the video on Monday, and an infiltrator of the group allegedly filmed it.
Disagreements between the various protest groups in Seattle are well known and have spilled over into the public view on social media. Direct Action marches are described as a “venue” and are considered leaderless. An increasing presence by the Youth Liberation Front, an organization born out of Portland, vacillates between allowing independent journalists to tell their story and threatening violence against reporters.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”35″ gal_title=”Breonna Taylor 365 Day Protests”]
Black activists, including those within Direct Action, have expressed the frustration of the coopting of the Black Live Matters message with insurrectionary anarchist tactics. In January, Black leaders in Tacoma condemned a protest that tore through Black neighborhoods.
Black leaders have expressed that any property destruction caused by insurrectionary anarchists gets blamed on Black Lives Matter and the Black community. The court of public opinion frequently conflates Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and anarchists into the same grouping. In reality, they represent three different philosophies with overlapping goals but use divergent tactics.
For example, systemic racism against the Black community has roots within corporate America, especially in banking and financing. Acknowledgment, correction, and compensation for wrongs against the Black (and BIPOC) are common goals. Some groups seek reform, another dismantlement, and others destruction. These critical differences are often lost within the message and actions on the street.
In contrast, Black leaders in Portland assembled for a vigil for Breonna Taylor. A group of about 100 gathered outside while maintaining social distance for a candlelight vigil. The vigil featured live music, speeches from Black leaders, and impacted family members. The details of the actions taken by Louisville Police and the multiple policy violations were outlined with documentation. Candles and flowers surrounded a large painting of Breonna Taylor as people paid their respects.
A drawing of Breonna Taylor was surrounded by flowers and candles during a vigil in Portland, Oregon
The group then drove to the Blackburn Bridge, where activists released 60 lanterns into the Columbia River to commemorate Breonna Taylor’s life. With musicians playing, a group of about 100 marched over a mile to the Federal Courthouse. When they arrived around 10 PM, Direct Action protesters had already gathered outside the courthouse for a third day. On Thursday, federal officials used pepper balls and tear gas, while on Friday, Portland police kettled about 100 people, including journalists, arresting 13.
As the Direct Action protesters painted graffiti on the boards covering windows and columns and probed for weak points, Black leadership demanded they stop. A heated exchange exploded between the two groups, with Black leaders expressing frustration that Portland’s continued violence does not support Black lives. Black activists repeated words heard last year that Black voices should be listened to when protests are happening to support Black lives.
A Black activist appeals for support and to end Direct Action in Portland, Oregon on Saturday
Like in Seattle, the fissure between Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and anarchists was on full display. Some pleaded for the primarily white audience watching and listening to intervene and stop the direct action group. Some people moved to the courthouse sidewalk, and gradually most left the courthouse perimeter.
After the exchange, many left the area. As the night progressed, tensions rose several times, with announcements from the courthouse that those on the sidewalk were trespassing and could be subject to action. The sounds of rocks hitting the wooden barricades and windows filled the air multiple times. Music known to result in DMCA takedowns played in an attempt to blackout media coverage. By 1 AM, most had left, and not one Portland Police officer or federal agent made an appearance.
Twenty-four hours later, Portland police declared an unlawful assembly as Direct Action hit the streets again. On Monday, a coalition of Black leaders condemned insurrectionary anarchists in particular and put out a call for the tactics of property damage and threats to end.
Many expect an increase and larger protests in the coming months. Better weather, the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, the imminent decision on charges against police officers involved with Manny Ellis’s death, and the Jeff Nelson trial are all on the horizon.
A variety of groups and tactics will continue to be employed by different factions. If there is one thing the media should strive to achieve in those coming months, it is clearly differentiating between the groups, their tactics, and their goals.
Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman, 70, stated he was taking time off after being caught on camera during a Zoom meeting making comments about Kevin Peterson Jr. and Black suspects in general.
Last week between court cases, Judge Zimmerman spoke to another court official while the Zoom meeting was running. During his conversation, he demonstrated judicial and racial bias while disparaging defendants and their family members. The Oregonian released a video of his comments on Monday after a YouTube video was removed on Saturday.
The Barrar Law Firm, one of the largest criminal defense firms in Western Washington, called for Zimmerman’s resignation following the broadcast. Moments later, the other five judges at Clark County District Court condemned Zimmerman’s comment, stating, “racial bias displayed by a judge is unacceptable, unethical, unjust and cannot be tolerated.”
By morning, county prosecutors and defense lawyers alike were filing motions to disqualify Zimmerman on cases he was presiding over. In a story by Oregon Public Broadcasting, Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik stated, “We’re not indicating that the prosecutor’s office feels like we would necessarily get an unfair ruling. We’re worried more about people that are accused.”
During the Zoom meeting where Zimmerman talks to another unnamed court official, he stated that Kevin Peterson, Jr. had a “death wish” and that he was “so dumb” for fearing a lifetime in jail if he didn’t cooperate with a regional task force. Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man, was shot by police in October during an alleged drug bust. Security camera video and phone records call into question police actions during the attempted arrest of Peterson Jr.
In a further twist, Judge Zimmerman’s son, Erik Zimmerman, was one of the Clark County Sheriff deputies present during the attempted arrest of Peterson Jr. As the suspect ran away from police, the younger Zimmerman was one of three deputies who shot at Peterson Jr.
During the Zoom meeting, Judge Zimmerman suggested that Peterson Jr. family was trying to capitalize on his death, saying, “he wakes up with dollar signs in his eyes and George Floyd’s attorneys.”
Several defense attorneys and public defenders who have petitioned Judge Zimmerman have come forward this week with questions on his conduct and his attitudes towards non-English speaking defendants.
Journalists, activists, and researchers defending the First Amendment
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