Seattle was the site of widespread unrest on Saturday as “No Kings” protests across the country escalated into violence, with demonstrators in the city targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and assaulting a journalist.
Clashes broke out near the ICE field office in Tukwila, a suburb of Seattle, after activists, including Antifa and anti-ICE demonstrators, surrounded the building and barricaded exits. The protest came after ICE reportedly issued a last-minute call for illegal immigrants to appear at the office for immigration matters. Demonstrators attempted to block ICE vehicles from leaving the facility with detainees.
As ICE and Homeland Security personnel began removing detained illegal immigrants from the building, activists swarmed federal vehicles to prevent them from leaving. In response, federal and local law enforcement deployed tear gas and crowd control munitions to disperse the crowd. ICE vehicles ultimately broke through the barricades and left the area. Several arrests were made during the confrontation.
Elsewhere in downtown Seattle, tension continued to rise. Antifa militants set up an anti-ICE blockade, and one vehicle was seen ramming through it after being surrounded. Fires were also set in the streets and outside the federal building.
During the unrest, journalist Cam Higby was attacked by Antifa rioters. Video footage showed Higby being punched in the back of the head and kicked before he deployed mace in self-defense. The man who allegedly ordered the mob assault had, according to Higby, threatened to kill him weeks prior.
“I think I’m fine,” Higby said afterward, explaining that Seattle Police Department officers reportedly told several people they would not be intervening in the violence that took place throughout the night. Higby said the same individual who led the attack had previously threatened to bring a gun to a future protest and warned him not to attend.
Higby criticized the city’s handling of the violence and the Seattle police for allowing lawlessness to unfold.
“They were lighting fires under moving vehicles, occupied vehicles, that were stopped in traffic because they were blocking it,” he explained. “They lit several fires up and down the street, they were throwing fireworks at moving traffic. In what world is this F*cking acceptable?”
