Day of protests planned for May Day, including march from Judkins Park

The annual May Day March for Immigrant and Workers Rights starts at St Mary’s near Judkins Park Tuesday. After a rally that starts at 3:30, the march will head downtown at 5.

Once downtown, the march will meet up with people gathered at Westlake Park for a day of hip-hop and political action. Organizers are calling the day a General Strike and urging people not to go to school or work.

Details of the march from El Comite Pro-Reforma Migratoria y Justicia Social:


Annual March and Rally May 1st 2012

Why do we march?

We demand an immediate end to the “secure communities” program, the most recent addition to a policy which has caused the deportation of more than a million immigrants and left more than 10 thousand dead at our borders


Immigration Reform Now!

We Demand Human Rights, Labor Rights, and Access to Education for Everyone!

Tuesday May 1st
Rally at 3:30 pm
March begins at 5:00
611 20th Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98144
(St. Mary’s church)

The Seattle Mayor’s office Friday issued a statement warning about possible violence and property damage around Tuesday’s planned May Day marches and protests. “We also have evidence that other people may be coming to Seattle on Tuesday with the intention of using the public demonstrations as an opportunity to commit violence, damage property and disrupt peaceful free speech activity,” it reads. The full statement is below. 2011’s Seattle May Day rallies were peaceful — and well attended.

A Seattle Central student walkout is one of several actions planned for the day. May1stSeattle.org features a schedule of the planned rallies and events.

Statement on May 1 Demonstrations

SEATTLE –On Tuesday, May 1, several organizations will be holding public demonstrations in Seattle. This will include an annual May Day March for Immigrant and Workers Rights from Judkins Park to downtown Seattle, an Occupy Seattle-sponsored General Strike, and rallies scheduled throughout the day at Westlake Park. The Seattle Department of Transportation advises that delays should be expected downtown during the Tuesday afternoon commute.

We also have evidence that other people may be coming to Seattle on Tuesday with the intention of using the public demonstrations as an opportunity to commit violence, damage property and disrupt peaceful free speech activity. There has been a significant increase in graffiti and posters alluding to violence around the May 1 events. Websites have described trainings in how to conceal weapons beneath signs and banners, and how to target police officers on horses. At a protest at the Port of Seattle in December 2011, several people used peaceful demonstrators as a shield to throw projectiles and incendiary devices at police officers.

Early Thursday morning an incendiary device was thrown at a bank in Columbia City. This was similar to an attack on a bank that took place in Portland late Wednesday night.

Seattle Police command staff and Mayor’s Office staff have been working with protest organizers, property owners, and other stakeholders to facilitate peaceful, constitutional demonstrations. Officers will respond appropriately to criminal acts and threats or harm directed against participants, non-participants, and property.

While much of the day is expected to be peaceful, CHS is told that posts on sites like pugetsoundanarchists.org have concerned authorities and prompted the warnings. This post on the site says Seattle Police referenced an “intelligence report” in a meeting with May 1st organizers. “During the meeting, the SPD revealed that they are very worried that people will attempt to de-arrest each other if the police attack them,” the post states.

Graffiti and postering related to the May 1st actions has been prevalent throughout the Hill and the Central District for weeks including several posters including messages about the 1999 WTO riots.

18 thoughts on “Day of protests planned for May Day, including march from Judkins Park

  1. The extreme left communists are at it again trying to usurp loosely defined issues of immagrant rights, environmental justice, and other “justice” movements. Along with the “anarchists” who are actually Nationalist Socialists that hide behind masks. The communists will cry about the fact that other people have not spilled their milk and so they should have to share with the clumbsy imbiciles that did. The anarchists will paint thoughful slogans like “wake up” and the letter A on a few hundred surfaces and perhaps break a window. Their goal is to dictate their own brand of a controlled society where half wits make rash decisions about sharing (taking) from others. Not this year. Let’s all laugh at them.

  2. If you’re going to call a group of people “imbeciles,” may I suggest you look up how to spell the word correctly next time?

  3. Our street was attacked last month by this group. It cost several homeowners hundreds of dollars to clean up the mess. Some of the graffiti could not be entirely removed and left visible marks. Street signs were also tagged costing taxpayers. We are on high alert tomorrow.

  4. KDG: Instead of attacking his spelling, why not address his points? Or are you just the spell check police?

  5. I’m surprised to see Carolyn being that petty as well over spelling while ignoring the message. Maybe when a police officer is blinded by a thrown lightbulb full of chemicals, or what for many would be worse – his horse is injured, we’ll all learn that it’s the same small group of folks causing havoc every time, crapping all over otherwise peaceful protests.

  6. Illegally immigrate to a foreign country, then I want to use their services free of charge, next I will start waving my countries flag around and demand rights and more free services, if the natural born citizens and legal immigrants don’t like it, they are racist.

    They should lead this march of criminals right onto some buses to the INS detention center.

    Just FYI the penalty for illegally immigrating TO Mexico starts at 2 years in federal prison.

  7. I was making the point that perhaps the original post wasn’t well thought out. As for the argument itself, it is barely coherent and therefore difficult to address in any kind of competent manner.

  8. I always thought the online peanut gallery of the Times/PI comment sections lived somewhere out in Snohomish co. or something but it’s becoming clear they live right here in the CD also.

  9. Real diversity sucks, eh? Or do you prefer to live in a world where everyone thinks just like you?

  10. I hardly see what is so hard to understand about the laughable antics of the communists. As with most people, I have no problem much of Marx’s writings or the possible workings or a more socialist or communistic government than what we have. My point is to sarcasticly point out for many of these folks involved in the protesting that they are supporting a communist cause, they may well be communists if they were to self evaluate, and that the anarchists are not simple folks who want less government. The anarchists are maniacs intent on impressing their myopic snivling ideas on the rest of society. They are window breakers. They are people that feel good about spraying painting the letter A on stuff. Gee how enlightened.

    I am quite certain that you can find more spelling errors here. It’s because I just don’t care to take the time for grammer. I never have. It dates. It’s an attention thing that some might call ADHD. I tent not to think of it as a disorder but just a different set of beliefs as to what is important. It is too bad that some of the nanny nutter A+ spellers put so much time into missing the message over what is essentially a typo. It’s hard to believe that such people can actually communicate at all in a society with so many different people. How do you communicate with so many folks who are less linguistically adept than me. I’ve always been able to communicate at all sorts of levels, except with the snotty assed eeeenglish majors. My brother is a snotty ass english major. We are best of friends and he happens to be the smartest guy on the planet, but, man he can sure be a prick about sentence structure. Most people hate him.

  11. Will the real uptight Seattlite please stand up. The column was funny. The butt of the joke, not so much.

  12. I have suggested the #1 explanation of what the May Day event is – A communist soap box attended by lunatics. A few have derided me but have not suggested a different way to look at the events. Please, enlighten me.

  13. what a bunch of tools – way to go, busting the windows of American Apparel. That’s really sticking it to the man! Attacking a company that tries to pay a living wage and have decent working conditions for its workers.

    I love the uniforms too…kind of a teenage mutant ninja turtle meets the villain from Scream.

  14. Focus on the spelling. Don’t look at the little man behind the bandana