6:11 p.m. UPDATE: Further video footage provided to the Courier-Herald appears to show the man who was allegedly assaulted shoving a different student back as he walked away, causing her to fall onto the sidewalk.
The student confirmed in a phone interview that she was pushed by the man, but added that she did not make a statement to the police.
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4:43 p.m. UPDATE: The Enumclaw Police Department has released a statement on today’s arrests on Facebook.
“… [Officers] were informed of a recent unprovoked assault that had been captured on video. Officers determined there was probable cause to detain the assault suspect and attempted to stop the individual. The suspect fled, resulting in a foot pursuit that ended at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Porter Street. When officers attempted to arrest the juvenile female suspect, approximately 25 protestors surrounded the officers, As officers escorted the suspect, protestors continues to crowd officers and direct significantly derogatory remarks toward them. During this time, a second juvenile female protester was arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer after interfering with the initial arrest.”
The EPD is recommending charges for fourth degree assault, obstruction, and resisting arrest for the first suspect, and obstruction for the second, to the King County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office.
The minors have been released.
“The Enumclaw Police Department supports the community’s right to peacefully protest and works to ensure the safety of participants during these events. We appreciate the majority of protestors who remained peaceful and cooperative. However, assault, harassment, and obstruction of law enforcement are criminal acts and cannot be tolerated, even during a protest. We commend our officers for addressing safety concerns, de-escalating a large crowd, and helping prevent further hard during this event.”
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4:30 p.m. UPDATE: The Enumclaw Police Department expects to forward charging information to the King County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office, possibly by the end of today.
Because the suspects are minors, the EPD will not be able to release a police report in the incident.
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Original post: An Enumclaw High School walkout against Immigration and Customs Enforcement today ended with the arrest of at least two students after an alleged assault.
The Courier-Herald typically does not identify minors accused of a crime; charges have yet to be filed.
The walkout started at 11:40 a.m. as 100 to 150 students marched out of the school commons and walked down Semanski Street, Roosevelt Avenue, and finally Cole Street to end up at City Hall.
The vast majority of the event was peaceful and energetic, with the students shouting “No justice, no peace,” “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” and, perhaps most enthusiastically, “Fuck ICE.”
But that ended when a non-local individual who identified himself as a “gonzo journalist” proceeded to enter a crowd of students and stood on a concrete block, filming and talking to the group. The scene was chaotic, and as the students yelled at him, the man yelled back something like “President Trump is the greatest president.”
Eventually the man stepped down started to blow an emergency whistle. However it did not appear he made any attempt to exit the group.
The man began getting closer to a student, who appeared to yell “Back the fuck up,” according to Courier-Herald footage; the man continued to blow the whistle in the students’ face until, about a second later, the student swung at the man, knocking off his glasses and making him drop his phone.
The man continued to stay with the group, repeating “You’re going to jail,” as the crowd began to enter the street.
Eventually the man began to walk away, but as students began to chase after him, he took off.
The Enumclaw Police Department quickly came to the scene and a few minutes later, the man requested the arrest of the student.
As word of the eventual arrest made its way through the crowd of students, now significantly smaller, the student attempted to run, but officers brought her to the ground and placed her in handcuffs in the middle of Porter Avenue.
As officers escorted her on foot to the local jail, they were followed by more students yelling; one student sppeared to throw themselves down on the ground at the officers, and she was also taken to the jail.
Testimony was split, with students saying the man who was assaulted pushed the student first while the man maintained he did not make contact with the student and that his actions did not warrant the assault.
This is an ongoing story, and it will be updated as more information becomes public.
The walkout of 100 to 150 students was largely peaceful. Photo by Ray Miller-Still
Students walked more than a mile and a half from Enumclaw High to city hall. Photo by Ray Miller-Still
The man who was allegedly assaulted, pictured here on the right, was filming and interacting with students before the incident. Seconds before he was allegedly struck, he was surrounded by a group of yelling students; he began to blow an emergency whistle, but did not appear to attempt to leave the group. Photo by Ray Miller-Still
Photo by Ray Miller-Still
