Two arrested after assault during City Hall protest Sunday

Two people were arrested Sunday after a man was assaulted during a protest near Olympia City Hall.

About 3:45 p.m. Sunday, protesters who had gathered outside of City Hall moved into the intersection on Fourth Avenue and Cherry Street to block cars headed east. Counter protesters who had gathered in the Meineke Car Care Center parking lot across from City Hall tried to shepherd the cars through the lot and onto Cherry to keep traffic flowing.

The two groups got close and began yelling at one another, throwing insults and curses until a man from the group at Meineke was pepper sprayed in the face, according to Olympia Police Lt. Paul Lower. The man was then chased and assaulted by three other protesters. The man was hit in the head with an extendable baton, bloodying him, then he was punched multiple times by a second protester and hit with a cardboard sign by a third protester, Lower said.

The police came out soon after, barricading the man and giving him medical attention. He was taken by ambulance to Providence St. Peter Hospital.

Peter Diaz, who organized the counter-protest and said he is a friend of the victim, said man “is not as tactful” as some in the counter-protest group. He is seen in a video recorded by Diaz shouting at some of the City Hall group’s protesters.

Diaz said Monday his friend has been released from the hospital but has a busted lip and now has to use a straw to eat.

Two people were arrested in connection with the assault and the police are currently looking for a third, whom they have identified.

A 20-year-old man with Olympia residence was arrested on second-degree assault charges for allegedly using the extendable baton on the man. The police found him in an alleyway near City Hall, changing his clothes after he had dumped the baton in a trash bin, Lower said.

A juvenile also was arrested on misdemeanor fourth degree assault charges, Lower said.

Olympia Police also believe the two arrested men participated in vandalizing Domino’s Pizza the morning of July 5.

This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 1:22 PM.