By Morrissey Morrissey
After almost a year, prosecutors have charged four of the nine people arrested following the May Day protest in Downtown Olympia in May of 2017. The charges include misdemeanor rioting, pedestrian obstruction, failure to disperse, and disorderly conduct.
One year ago, protesters in Olympia gathered at Fourth and Capitol to continue the Pacific Northwest tradition of May Day demonstrations. What started as a stagnant gathering of about 100 people, most of whom wore facial coverings, developed into a night ending with the arrest of nine protesters.
Protesters held signs with slogans like “Delete the Port”, “Burn Banks, Grow Gardens” and one demonstrator with food to share held a sign reading “snacks” with the “a” circled to form an anarchy symbol. A sound system was present and according to some sources, there was a general “festive mood”. The group took to the streets and marched eastward through downtown chanting anti-racist and anti-nationalist sentiments in unison. The march came to a stop at 4th and Jefferson.
Invigorated and emboldened by the then-recent November 2016 train blockade at which locals delayed North Dakota-bound oil fracking sand from leaving the Port of Olympia, the May Day protesters then began to build a blockade with pallets drawn from nearby alleyways onto the tracks at 4th and Jefferson.
Soon after, a group of around 50 riot-gear clad cops gathered and began to march, first west on 5th and then east on 4th toward the newly erected blockade. Nine cops were reported to be injured by flying rocks during this movement. Cops proceeded to fire concussion grenades and pepper balls into the crowd.
Protesters with reinforced banners held their ground for some time and the march continued north, through the transit center and back to it’s point of inception. In this time, the windows of two downtown banks and the downtown Starbucks were found to be shattered. Eventually, the crowd dispersed into many directions and a number of protesters were arrested by local cops and held as a group, face down on the cement.
One detainee sang loudly and lively the Italian anti-fascist hymn “Bella Ciao”, a song that was created in the 1940’s and sung by the Italian resistance movement in the Italian civil war and during the fascist German occupation of Italy in World War II. The song, which opens with the lines “This morning I awakened, Goodbye beautiful, This morning I awakened, And I found the invader”, has since been held close as an anti-fascist hymn of rebellion and freedom.
With May Day only a week away, there is reason to believe that the timing of the charges is not coincidental. During the hearing in which the terms of release were set, the prosecutor made a point to request that the four protesters be served with an exclusion order from downtown Olympia, stating that it is “important because May Day is coming up.” This request for an exclusion order could very possibly be to deter further protests this year, which would continue the U.S. tradition of demonstrating on May 1, a day which has been nicknamed May Day or International Workers Day.
The day of demonstration started in the 19th century as a way to celebrate the efforts and serve as a reminder of the worker’s right movement. May Day started as an annual reminder of the Haymarket Affair which took place in Chicago in 1886 as a demonstration in solidarity with workers striking for an eight-hour workday. After the death of eight workers in Chicago at the hands of Chicago Police, a demonstration which started peacefully ended with police confrontation and the arrest of eight anarchists.
Since this event, demonstrations have been happening annually to continue the fight for workers rights.
