Category Archives: Local

BIPOC, LGBTQIA, Local

Hundreds celebrate president-elect Biden on Capitol Hill

With a stiff breeze blowing on a mostly cloudy afternoon, hundreds gathered at 10th and East Pine, celebrating the presumptive election win of Joe Biden. Revelers danced in the street while popping open champagne bottles, waving Biden-Harris signs and Black Lives Matter and pride flag.

https://malcontentment.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5mnthsAgo.mp4
five months ago spd was shooting rubber bullets and teargas at protesters, now there is a celebration.

Cars headed westbound on East Pine and stretched as far as the eye could see past the East Precinct, honking horns and waving at the crowd. Music played from a small sound system until a COVID-friendly mobile DJ arrived. About 30 minutes later, the Marshall Law Band came riding a trailer pulled by an SUV. As the sun broke through the clouds in the late afternoon, the band played a long set of music to a jubilant crowd.

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Not everyone was pleased with the events unfolding this afternoon. Several familiar faces from the CHOP/CHAZ era, which protesters considered police informants, glowered and harassed some people. A group of protesters in black bloc arrived and burned an American flag outside of the Black Lives Matter mural. These incidents were small and didn’t gain much attention from the people celebrating.

Joe Biden won the 2020 national election with 290 electoral votes currently assigned to him. The states of North Carolina remains a tossup, Alaska is not deep enough in their vote count to declare a winner, and Georgia is having an automatic recount.

Local, Weather

Sunny but cold weekend will give way to wet week

Puget Sound is head for a repeat of a couple of weeks ago after a soggy week that will give way to a more seasonable weekend.

Saturday: A perfect late fall day, partly sunny with a high of 44 – 48 in Kirkland-Woodinville-Bellevue depending on your location. Higher Hills like North Rose, and Finn Hill will be cooler while hot spots like downtown Bellevue and Totem Lake will reach the high 40s.

Saturday Night: Lows will dip to 32 to 35 under clear skies

Sunday: Bright sun with temperatures of 46 to 50 degrees but breezy, with a north wind up to 10 MPH

Sunday Night: Clear skies will give way by sunrise with lows 29 to 33

Monday: Clouding up with rain developing in the afternoon. Temperatures will be 45 to 47

Monday Night: Cold with periods of rain, temperature from 38 to 40 degrees and a south wind up to 10 MPH

The outlook for next week is pretty wet. The long-range forecast indicates significant rain is possible on Thursday and Friday, but too far to call accurately. Friday could include a windstorm event, but on a scale of 1 to 10, right now this is looking like a 2 or 3 – not a French Toast Emergency

Local, National

Election night 2020 coverage

Malcontent News will be providing continuous coverage of the 2020 Presidential election across all of our channels. David “The Malcontent,” Renee, Sarah, Ty, and Boomer, along with a team of 15 moderators, admins, and researchers will be live from Studio 2 starting at 3:50 PM PST.

We’ll be providing analysis and tracking the presidential and Senate races. In addition, as we wait for results, we’ll do replays of key events in Seattle over the last five months such as June 6 on the Western Barricade, the August 16 SPOG protest, and the Labor Day SPOG protest. We will play the mini-documentary Inequality In America: The Challenge of a Generation as well as the full interview with Eleanor Jones, and a replay of the Elaine Simons interview discussing the death of her foster son Jesse Sarey. We will also do replays of Classic Elisha from August 9 and the Marshall Law Band from October 26.

Our broadcast day is planned to continue until 1:00 AM PST when the state of Hawaii closes polls. We will have to go off the air briefly at 11:45 PM due to the limitations of YouTube, Facebook, and Periscope, which allow streams for no longer than 8 hours.

How can I watch and follow

We will be using all of our channels on election night.

  • Live blog on Malcontent News – this will include our Twitch live feed from Studio 2
  • Live feed and comments on Facebook
  • Live feed and comments on Twitch
  • Live feed on YouTube
  • Live feed on Periscope
  • Updates and results via Twitter
  • Updates and results via Instagram

How we will call state and senate elections

We will be aggregating information from the Secretary of State from each state and the District of Columbia, as well as monitoring the Associated Press. The Associated Press has committed to not calling a state for a candidate until there is no possible, legal way for the front runner to be defeated in that state. We will provide our analysis on where we think a county or state vote count will land, including commentary that an election call should be made soon, but we will not make an independent decision before the Associated Press. We also will not discuss the vote count in states in multiple timezones, most critically, Florida, Michigan, and Texas, until all polls are closed in the respective state.

How we will moderate channels

We will have moderators across all four of our broadcast channels on election night, a first for Malcontent News to provide a moderated environment for bipartisan discussion and respectful discord. Conspiracy theories, spam, and hateful comments will be deleted. Moderators plan to operate with a light touch for the night, but that depends on you, the viewer. If channels get brigaded we will increase moderation. If our capacity becomes overrun we will disable the on-screen chat.

How we will cover potential unrest

If there is widespread unrest, violence, or voter intimidation on election day, we have arrangements with some independent journalists to transmit their streams. We will switch to available streams if and when they become available. We also have an agreement with a local affiliate to use their coverage and news stories, and if needed for local coverage of unrest specifically, we will move to their channel. Given that the mainstream media has been harassed by all sides, it is unlikely they will have better coverage than our independent journalist community. If further, unthinkable action happens, such as the suspension of the election, domestic terrorist attacks on government buildings, or an announcement of the invalidation of the election by the federal government, we’re in the same uncharted water as you.

How we will cover candidates statements of victory or concession

We will go to C-Span as part of our coverage for candidate victory or concession statements.

How we will cover post-election

We will be providing coverage of any protests, events, rallies, or demonstrations as our capacity allows in the days after the election.

Breaking News, Local

Seven Seattle police officers threaten art gallery with confiscation of display

John Mitchell created an art installation highlighting Black Lives Matter artwork and scenes of Seattle Police Department brutality at his Capitol Hill studio. The art installation uses projectors, valued at $25,000 each, to display the video clips and still images through windows and on to the Seattle East Precinct station’s ecology block barriers. Police officers complained that the installation was problematic for exiting the garage, and tonight officers confronted Mitchell.

In a video shot on October 31, seven Seattle police officers approached Mitchell, demanding he removes the projector and threatening to confiscate the art installation. In the video shared on Facebook, one of the officers says, “We’re going to give you a warning. If the officers complain some more [sic] about this light blinding you, we’ll write up a report and confiscate it. You’ve been warned [sic] multiple times.“

Earlier in the video, the same officer asks, “Have you tried driving a car out of there yet?” The ramp the officer is talking about is gated and has a small, no trespassing sign. One protester and one citizen journalist have been arrested at different times for walking up the ramp, indicating that accessing the ramp would likely be met with force.

This is a breaking story and we will continue to monitor.

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local

Seattle police meet Every Day March protesters in riot gear at Mayor Durkan’s home

The Seattle Police Department’s Community Response Group were waiting outside Mayor Jenny Durkan’s home in the Windermere neighborhood of Seattle on Saturday when protesters from the Everyday March arrived.

The police, dressed in riot gear and armed with “less lethal” weapons — along with other munitions — immediately gave a dispersal order to the peaceful demonstrators, witnesses said.

The SPD also stopped and cited every vehicle that was part of the “car brigade,” according to an EDM organizer. The vehicles were there to keep protesters on foot safe from road traffic.

A small group of officers was still on-site when we arrived on the scene.

Today represents the 155th day of continuous protest in Seattle.

This is a breaking news story.

BIPOC, Local, National

BLM protesters march after shooting of Kevin Peterson Jr.

Black Lives Matter protesters, mostly dressed in black bloc, held a vigil at Cowen Park in Seattle on Friday for Kevin Peterson Junior. Peterson Jr. was shot and killed by three Clark County sheriffs deputies in Hazel Dell, Washington, on Thursday, October 29. Hazel Dell is located about 12 miles north of Portland, Oregon.

Protesters gather in response to the Kevin Peteson, Jr. police shooting in Hazel Dell, Washington.

On Thursday night, Clark County Sheriff deputies pursued Kevin Peterson, Jr. as part of an alleged drug investigation. Initially, Clark County Sheriff’s office stated that Peterson Jr. had a gun, had fired at deputies. Later on Friday, officials walked back the statement.

“Soon after the foot chase began, the man produced a handgun, and the officers backed off. A short time later, the subject encountered three Clark County deputies who all discharged their pistols. During the crime scene investigation, a Glock model 23, 40 caliber pistol was found near the deceased by independent crime scene investigators.”

Battle Ground Police Chief Mike Fort

Olivia Selto, Peterson Jr’s. girlfriend, reported she was on a video call at the time of the pursuit and witnessed Peterson Jr. get shot. She said that deputies did not check his condition as the call remained connected, and then terminated the call on the phone.

Initially, the Camas Police Department took on the investigation, but I-940 does not allow for neighboring police departments to investigate police shootings. The Battleground, Washington Police Department is acting as the public liaison for the investigation.

Back in Seattle, a group of approximately 50 people marched through the streets of the University District calling on bystanders to “get into the streets.” The march received a positive response from observers and gained several participants along Greek Row near the University of Washington. The Seattle Police Department reported that windows were broken at a Starbucks, and several arrests were made.

David Obelcz contributed to this story.

Breaking News, Local

UPDATED Amazon security guard drives car through protesters, at least 1 injured, driver in custody

Video 5 Comments

A vehicle drove through protesters outside of the Seattle West Precinct police station, striking at least three protesters with reports of at least one injured. A group from Seattle’s Every Day March, on their 151st day of protest were outside of the police station when a car exited from a parking garage and drove through the crowd. Reports from the scene indicate the driver is an Amazon security guard, who was asked by protesters to drive a different route but instead drove through the group. Seattle Police are reporting they have a driver in custody.

Earlier reports of Seattle car brigade drivers being ticketed appear to be untrue based on video from the scene, with drivers issued written warnings.

Among the victims was a person who was with Summer Taylor and Diaz Love on July 4, when Taylor was killed and Love gravely injured in an early morning motor vehicle attack while protesting on Interstate 5. Washington State Patrol had closed the freeway, but left access to the off-ramps open.

Video shows a large group outside of the precinct, and screams of terror as the car drove through the protesters. After there was a scene of chaos with Seattle Police working on issuing written warnings to the car brigade drivers and later harassing Every Day March leaders while they were trying to leave.

This is at least the sixth car attack against protesters in Seattle since June 7, 2020. Nikolas Fernandez drove his car into protesters on June 7, shooting one in the arm before surrendering to the police. Fernandez has been charged with felony assault. Retired Seattle police officer Molly Clark drove her car through a Seattle protest while hurling racial slurs. Clark retired from the Seattle Police Department was never charged. A Doordash driver drove through the bike brigade during a march, clipping a person and destroying a bike. That driver was never charged. Dawit Kelete drove his Jaguar SUV into protesters on I-5 in the early morning hours of July 4. He was arrested and has been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving.

Seattle Municipal Code Section12A.12.015(A)(4) allows protesters and vehicles to block traffic and be in the street while exercising their First Amendment rights.

Renee Raketty contributed to this story.

BIPOC, Local

Art installation raises ire of SPD East Precinct

The CHOP Gallery on Seattle’s Capitol Hill may not be open to the public but its new installation is already raising the ire of its neighbor — the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct.

The installation includes up to five projectors streaming protest-related content onto the north-facing windows on E. Pine St. and onto the precinct itself.

A projector from the John Mithcell Art Gallery shines a mural of George Floyd onto the barricades around the East Precinct. Renee Racketty, copyright 2020, all rights reserved

The curator, John Mitchell, gave Malcontent News a tour on Monday. The projectors have not been mounted yet to their permanent positions as he continues to perfect their placement. Some of the projectors, which he acquired used, had once fetched $25,000 each.

“These are professional grade projectors once used by Nike — not sponsored,” he says.

A projector from the John Mithcell Art Gallery shines an image of Breonna Taylor on a wall close to the East Precinct. Renee Racketty, copyright 2020, all rights reserved

Before Mitchell could finish his thought, a marked SPD police cruiser pulled up. “Mr. Mitchell…” the officer began to say from his rolled-down driver side window. The officer went on to explain that one of the projectors made it difficult for him to see oncoming traffic.

Mitchell, himself an accomplished photographer, says he just wants to spark dialogue in the community and encourage other artists to act.

BIPOC, Local

1500 march in Seattle for 150 Days of BLM Protest

Video

The video includes strong language, discussion on violence, and police activity.

An estimated crowd of 1500 assembled on Capitol Hill to march in recognition of 150 days of continuous Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle. Assembling at Cal Anderson Park, once the heart of CHOP, at 6 PM, the crowd continued to swell as a host of speakers and organizers addressed the enthusiastic crowd. Three black-owned businesses did a brisk business before protesters assembled for their march.

The march route went through downtown and stopped briefly at the West Precinct. The Seattle police reported graffiti was painted on the ecology blocks that surround the building, and some bottles were thrown. We witnessed fresh graffiti but did not see, nor hear any bottles. The march then went to Westlake, where there were more speeches by organizers and black leaders, a candlelight vigil, and live music by the Marshall Law Band. During this time a group of an estimated 100 protesters broke off and moved traffic barricades into the street according to Seattle Police Department reports.

For the return to Capitol Hill a smaller group, who had attended for over four hours, marched back to Broadway and Pine. As the evening march concluded, a large group from ENDD in black bloc, marched east on Pine before turning north on 11th. A resident of Capitol Hill reported that eggs had been thrown at the East Precinct and there was fresh graffiti.

Seattle police then appeared in force heading west on Pine and drove at a high rate of speed north on 12th. When our team moved to investigate, a large group of protesters rounded the corner at 12th and Pine, heading west, with Seattle Police chasing them with dye enhanced pepper spray and batons. No pepper spray was deployed, and upon our arrival with cameras, SPD released two they were just taking into custody and told the third person, “take a walk.” One was held by SPD while one community member yelled from a window and another protester heckled officers. Ultimately the individual was released.

BIPOC, Local

Black Lives Matter protesters took their message to the Eastside on Saturday

A flyer distributed online over the past week had stated the purpose of the march: “Bellevue is home to the richest people in the world — it’s time to wake them up…”

The group gathered at Downtown Park in Bellevue, WA, before marching through the downtown streets of the city. They chanted familiar slogans to those watching nearby, such as “Off your phones and into the streets.”

Several observers cheered as the marchers passed and some, dressed in their gowns, even left nearby bars and restaurants to join in. A baby could be seen marching as well as one woman who described herself as a “grandma.”

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Not everyone was as enthusiastic. About 15 individuals also followed the march with their cell phones or cameras while live-streaming the demonstration. Neoconservative media personality Katie Daviscourt was among them.

Local initiative celebrity and former gubernatorial hopeful Tim Eyman was also walking alongside the police on the sidewalk. Supporters of Donald Trump, Loren Culp, and the police were out in force near the intersection of NE 8th Street and Bellevue Way NE. One young man on his bike yelled “race traitors” at some of the white marchers.

A heavy police presence tracked the protesters’ every move. The Seattle Police Department and Port of Seattle Police were also there providing support to local law enforcement under a mutual aid agreement. Uniformed Washington State Patrol officers provided added security to the Bellevue Square Mall.

As the march continued downtown, a “civil emergency” was declared by the City of Bellevue. Cell phones on all sides suddenly lit up and the emergency alert tones filled the air. The notice read:

“The City of Bellevue has declared a civil emergency and enacted a weapons ban in the downtown area due to an imminent threat of injury to persons and property during protests tonight (Saturday). Please avoid the area.”

The march resulted in no significant property damage and bike officers only intervened twice to separate the marchers from their critics.

The biggest impact of the demonstration may be on the Bellevue economy and lost tax revenue. Many businesses closed early and hired private security at their own expense. A few businesses appeared to have also boarded up their windows. Furthermore, the overtime for the responding law enforcement agencies is likely to be significant.