EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story misquoted Councilman Clark Gilman about actions the city can take. He said the city’s rules “haven’t evolved to the point where we are prepared to enforce militia statutes or intervene prior to criminal acts.” That quote has been corrected.
Following clashes between two groups in downtown Olympia on Sept. 4 where people were allegedly assaulted and one person was shot, residents voiced their frustration with the city’s lack of response and expressed concern that the situation will repeat itself this Saturday.
The Olympia City Council heard multiple complaints from residents, a business owner, and a city council candidate about the lack of police presence downtown when the Proud Boys and anti-fascists, or Antifa, violently clashed in the streets Sept. 4.
Those who commented directed their frustrations at the police department for not being downtown to protect citizens from the two groups. They also expressed concern that the event may repeat itself on Saturday, when the two groups plan to reconvene downtown.
Before residents spoke, Mayor Cheryl Selby shared a statement about Saturday’s events, saying she also felt angry and frustrated by the violence on Sept. 4. She said the city has no problem with peaceful protests; however, “as we have seen in the past, some who march through our streets are only here to cause chaos.”
Selby implored Olympians to not engage “with those who come to our city with destructive intentions.” She said that it is hard to prevent someone bent on committing crimes from committing crimes, “but what we can do is hold accountable those who commit such crimes.”
Selby said she has asked city leadership and police to learn from past events and to prepare for what may happen this coming Saturday or anytime in the future.
“OPD will use the practices outlined in our guiding principles for demonstrations and crowd control, and make every effort to intervene early and swiftly to address lawlessness,” she said.
Sara Palmer, a mother who lives in northeast Olympia, told the council she was downtown with her teenager shopping at Underhill Plants, roughly two blocks away from the Intercity Transit Center, where a shooting took place less than three minutes after she and her teenager left the store.
“That’s very concerning for me as a local resident, as a parent, as somebody who’d like to be able to go downtown to look at house plants on a Saturday without a bunch of people roaming around hitting other people with sticks, never mind shooting each other,” Palmer told the council.
On Sept. 4, the two groups antagonized one another and clashed throughout the day. According to the Olympia Police, multiple assaults were reported, including one in which a woman told police she was chased and assaulted by Proud Boys, The Olympian reported.
At around 3 p.m., a group of protesters dressed in black — the dress usually associated with Antifa — ran through the transit center fleeing another group in pursuit. Video released by police shows men striking an Antifa member who then runs into the transit center, turns around and appears to fire five shots in the direction of the other group, allegedly striking a Proud Boy in the leg.
Palmer told the council that when she was downtown, she saw no law enforcement presence, “and that concerns me a great deal.”
Palmer was not alone. The owner of Underhill Plants, Alden Davis, told the council he had received notice from the city about the groups’ plans to rally, so it was clear the city was aware of what could happen, yet “all the violence still happened.” He asked the council, “Is something better going to happen this weekend, or should I close my business and tell people to stay home?”
Davis said he wants “a lot more police presence” downtown for gathering planned for Sept. 18. “I’m hoping that there’s going to be something, and that we can have some kind of reassurance ahead of time.”
Candace Mercer, who is running against incumbent Clark Gilman for Olympia City Council Position 4, shared her experience holding a political rally outside City Hall at 3 p.m. that Saturday. She said she chose City Hall because “it was the safest location I could think of in the city because it’s police headquarters.”
Mercer said when she asked OPD if officers would protect her at the rally, they told her “I should be prepared to protect myself.”
Alex Frenette told council that political clashes are not strange in this town, recalling the frequent protests that took place in Olympia after the 2020 election, where one person was shot at a protest.
Frenette asked what OPD will do on Sept. 18 when the Proud Boys have said they will return to Olympia to respond to the shooting of one of their members. “Are we going to see the same level of negligence from the Olympia Police Department as we saw a week and a half ago?”
Council members thanked those who spoke and said they had been having meetings all week trying to figure out how to respond to what happened on Sept. 4. However, they said the city can only do so much when it comes to preventing more incidents like this.
“At this point we’ll continue to make the calls to have people not bring their guns downtown, but we honestly can’t promise that people intending to brawl won’t brawl,” said Councilman Clark Gilman.
Gilman said the city has been having conversations for over a year on the topic of violent protests and how to best respond to them, but the city’s rules “haven’t evolved to the point where we are prepared to enforce militia statutes or intervene prior to criminal acts.” Militia statutes are rules for armed groups trying to do the work of a police force, Gilman wrote in an email to the Olympian.
City Manager Jay Burney tried to reassure those in attendance that Saturday would be different from what happened on Sept. 4, which he called unacceptable. He told the council and attendees that OPD is planning for Saturday and the city will inform the downtown community as they learn more about what Saturday will bring.
Cheryl Selby’s full statement
“We know that our community is frustrated and angry about the violence we’ve seen in Olympia in recent weeks. As both your mayor and a longtime resident, I share each of these emotions and wanted to speak out to reassure the public, especially with the possibility of more tensions coming to our streets.
“Along with many of you, we’ve heard about the plans for additional rallies and demonstrations on September 18. To be clear, we support the rights of individuals to peacefully gather and exercise their First Amendment rights. Olympia sits proudly as the seat of our state’s government, and we can shine as an example of freedom of speech and thought.
“Unfortunately, as we have seen in the past, some who march through our streets are only here to cause chaos. Instead of promoting peace and productive ideas, they bring intimidation through their words, actions and even weapons. That is why tonight, I implore the members of our community, do not engage with those who come to our city with destructive intentions. It’s difficult to prevent criminal acts from those who are intent on committing them. But what we can do is hold accountable those who commit such crimes.
“Too often, positive messages in historic movements are co-opted by those who have their own agendas. We will not let those agendas eclipse the values of our community. Only by holding onto our community values will we be able to fight against the hate and bias that can turn us against each other.
“We can also be prepared for future events. We’re all frustrated that the city was unable to manage last weekend’s events and are asking our city leadership and our police department to take the lessons learned from last weekend’s events and use them to prepare and hone our processes and practices as part of our preparations for the coming weekend and beyond.
“Anyone who comes into the city with the intent of committing acts of violence and destruction is not welcome here. OPD will use the practices outlined in our guiding principles for demonstrations crowd control to make every effort to intervene early and swiftly to address lawlessness.
“There are so many things about Olympia to celebrate, especially after all we’ve faced after the last 18-months or so. Let’s do everything we can as a community to continue our strong tradition of making Olympia a safe and inclusive place where violence doesn’t have a home.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 1:35 PM.