A rally, then violence in Olympia

A celebration of the rights of workers and immigrants turned ugly Thursday afternoon, as a smattering of May Day marchers clad in black from head to toe threw rocks through windows at two downtown Olympia banks.

The vandalism, which occurred while the banks were open with customers and employees inside, led to a violent confrontation between police and some demonstrators. In a separate incident Thursday, participants in May Day activities defaced the inside of the Capitol with anarchist symbols.

About 10 police officers moved in after the bank windows were shattered about 4 p.m., Olympia police Cmdr. Tor Bjornstad said. Protesters grabbed, punched and otherwise impeded the officers who were trying to arrest suspects thought to have thrown rocks at windows, he said.

Bjornstad said that as of Thursday night, six people had been arrested in connection with the vandalism at the banks.

The May Day event was intended as a way to promote social justice and bring attention to a proposal scheduled to be brought before the Olympia City Council on Tuesday to designate Olympia as a "sanctuary city" for war resisters. Sanctuary cities bar the use of local resources to enforce federal immigration laws and, in this case, to locate and arrest service members opposed to the war who desert their units.

Before the bank windows were broken, a separate group of protesters at the Capitol entered the building as a mass, said State Patrol Sgt. Ted DeHart. Members of that group then tried to enter the governor's office and clog a hallway. Representatives from the office spoke to them, and when they left, anarchist symbols were found scribbled on the walls and outside of the building.

No citations were issued because it was not clear who vandalized the building, DeHart said.

"We'd love to, but when there's so many, you can't keep your eye on them all, and they were so dense you couldn't see the wall," he said.

The commotion at the Capitol was not violent, but it did prompt the lockdown of the YMCA Youth Legislature, a gathering of 425 students in the Capitol this week.

Later in the day, demonstrators marched along Fourth Avenue while police observed from a distance. Police intervened when 9-1-1 calls started coming in about a window at U.S. Bank being broken, Bjornstad said.

'New dynamic' in march

For years, peaceful marches have taken place in Olympia on May Day and holidays, Bjornstad said.

Now, "there seems to be some other element within this group," he said.

Bjornstad continued: "I think they came with ill intent. It's a new dynamic."

Thursday's violent confrontation with police came after two others in the Olympia area in the past six months. During Port of Olympia protests in November, 66 demonstrators were arrested while trying to block military shipments from Iraq headed to Fort Lewis. And Feb. 15, concertgoers rioted after a man's arrest for fighting during a hip-hop concert at The Evergreen State College, overturning a Thurston County sheriff's patrol car and causing $50,000 worth of damage to that car and three others.

People often celebrate May Day, also known around the world as International Workers' Day, to commemorate the fight for the eight-hour workday and other improvements for workers brought about by the labor movement.

Organizers of Thursday's march had a permit to rally in Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia and on the Capitol steps, calling for immigrant rights and an end to the war in Iraq. The window-breaking started when some demonstrators marched along Fourth Avenue, blocking traffic, Bjornstad said.

Bjornstad said a marcher punched him in the arm as he was trying to assist with the arrests. She was arrested on suspicion of assault on a peace officer. Bjornstad said he was not hurt.

Bjornstad said two plainclothes narcotics detectives were inside Bank of America when a rock came through the window. Both went outside, and while one was apprehending someone he thought had broken a window and calling for help on his cell phone, another protester grabbed the phone and took off.

The detectives arrested the suspect who allegedly tried to steal the phone, then arrested the other suspect in front of Bayview Thriftway on Fourth Avenue, according to Olympia police.

Windows broken

Four windows were broken at Bank of America, and two were broken at U.S. Bank. Bjornstad said damage also was reported at Heritage Bank across Fifth Avenue from Bank of America. U.S. Bank closed after its window was broken. Windows also were broken at U.S. Bank during the November protests at the Port of Olympia.

Bank of America stayed open Thursday afternoon. Bank officials refused to comment. No one appeared hurt, although there was broken glass on the carpets under the large broken plate-glass windows inside the bank.

Johanna Donovan, a restaurant server who works near Bank of America, said she saw about 100 marchers on Fifth Avenue on Thursday afternoon, with a banner that said words to the effect of " 'burn all prisons' or something." She said she later heard "a pop and a shatter" when the rocks started going through Bank of America.

When Donovan looked back outside, "I saw two people get arrested, a girl and a guy." Donovan added that the marchers were shouting profanity-laced anti-police epithets as the arrests occurred.

Capital High School student Aierielle Smith said she was in Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art on Fifth Avenue with two friends when the marchers came by. She said police were trying to pick up a girl to move her from the road, and onlookers were shouting police down. She said police were shooting what she thought were rubber bullets — actually paintball rounds filled with pepper spray — to disperse the crowd. Police also waved batons at people who were blocking traffic to get them to move, she said. All of this occurred before the windows at Bank of America were broken, Smith said.

A police officer also was putting a video camera in marchers' faces during the march, Smith said.

"When everything started, it was peaceful protest," she said.

After the arrests, more than 30 people gathered at Olympia City Hall in a show of solidarity for those detained. A small group gathered by the gated entrance of the city jail as three police officers in riot gear stood watch.

Some marchers said banks were targeted because they symbolize an economic system that holds down working people for the benefit of the nation's elite.

"Banks represent a lot of money in the world" that can be used to finance wars and unjust causes, said Robert Gordon, a 20-year-old student, outside City Hall.

People who attended the march criticized the police response as excessive.

Police officers fired pepper bullets and were confrontational with the group after they knew the main instigators of the vandalism had either been arrested or left the scene, Gordon said.

"It put a lot of people who did nothing wrong in a dangerous situation," he said.

Caleb Hollatz said he was attempting to pick up his bike when a police officer shoved him with a baton and he was hit three times by pepper bullets.

Olympia police were not aware of any officers or marchers being injured Thursday.