From start to end: A comprehensive account of the Feb. 13 walkout and assault

Published 10:45 am Thursday, February 19, 2026

Editor’s note: Videos of the Feb. 13 walkout and arrests are available on the Courier-Herald’s Facebook page.

An Enumclaw High School walkout against Immigration and Customs Enforcement last Friday ended with the arrest of two students after an alleged assault.

The Courier-Herald typically does not identify minors accused of a crime; charges have yet to be filed as of Monday, Feb. 16.

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 non-violent, with the students shouting “No justice, no peace,” “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” and, perhaps most enthusiastically, “F*** ICE.”

However, there was an earlier incident where one student stole a MAGA hat off of another person, possibly another student.

A state patrol officer chased the suspect, who quickly dropped the hat, on foot, but was unable to apprehend them at first.

It appeared another walk-out participant returned the hat to its owner.

Officers apprehended the suspect later in the walkout, although it’s unclear if any arrest was made.

While there were many positive interactions between the students and passersby or drivers signaling their support for the walkout, student responses to opposition were often hostile; a truck that followed the walk-out with a Confederate flag during the march was the target of many an expletive and rude hand gesture, and others who voiced support for ICE in some form received the same treatment.

But what could have ultimately been a run-of-the-mill student protest suddenly made headlines when one student allegedly hit an adult.

The adult, who identified himself as a “gonzo journalist,” at some point embedded himself into a group of students while they were chanting, “F*** ICE and f*** you too,” according to multiple videos of the event.

In a short interview after, the man confirmed with The Courier-Herald that at some point prior to this, he yelled to the students something like “President Trump is the greatest president.” He held that neither this nor his later actions warranted being assaulted.

The man then stepped onto a concrete slab to get him above the crowd, record himself and the students chanting for more than a minute, before stepping back down among the students.

At some point, it appears he begins to film the student who would allegedly assault him, who is using a bullhorn. After filming for a short while, he starts blowing an emergency whistle at the students, but does not appear to attempt to leave the group in any way.

The man then approaches the same student he was filming, who could be heard saying “Back the f*** up,” while he continued blowing the whistle.

About a second later, a punch was thrown, knocking the man’s glasses and phone to the ground.

The student and the man continued to verbally engage as a crowd of students converged; the man eventually attempted to walk away, but when other students began chasing him, he ran off.

Some student witnesses told the Courier-Herald that the man was physical first. The Courier-Herald could find no video evidence to support that allegation.

However, one video did appear to show the man shove another student to the ground as he walked away. The student confirmed to the Courier-Herald that she was pushed, but said she decided not to make a statement to the police.

Roughly 15 minutes later, the man decided he wanted to pursue charges, so EPD officers made their way to arrest the student.

The student, seeing the officers come her way, ran about a block before she turned and stopped in the middle of Porter Street and Myrtle Avenue intersection.

Officers brought her to the ground and cuffed her before escorting her to the Enumclaw jail with a group of at least two dozens students surrounding and following them while shouting “significantly derogatory remarks,” spitting, and making physical contact.

A second student then appeared to throw herself at the legs of the officers, and she was also arrested. At that point, most of the students stopped following the officers.

Neither students met the criteria for being booked at the jail and were released.

Charges of assault in the fourth degree, obstruction, and resisting arrest were recommended to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office’s juvenile division for the first student, and a charge of obstruction for the second.

EPD RESPONSE

After the initial press release, EPD Chief Tim Floyd put out another message on Facebook.

“… First, I want to acknowledge that moments like this can bring strong emotions. Protests often arise from deeply held beliefs, and the right to peacefully assemble and express opinions is something we respect and are sworn to protect. Many individuals who participated in the recent protest did so with passion and a genuine desire to be heard, and that matters in a healthy democracy,” he wrote. “At the same time, our officers have a responsibility to maintain public safety for everyone — protestors, bystanders, business owners, and residents. The arrests that occurred were not about silencing voices or viewpoints. They were based on actions that officers believed violate the law and created safety concerns at the time. Being involved in a protest does not give one free pass to commit crimes. I understand that not everyone will agree with those decisions, and I respect that there are differing perspectives within our community.”

Floyd added that he was “extremely proud” of his officers and professionalism and restraint “while getting pushed, kicked at, spit at and called significantly derogatory names.”

ENUMCLAW SCHOOL DISTRICT RESPONSE

This walk-out was not a district-sponsored event, and the entirety of it happened off campus.

But after the arrests, ESD also put out a statement online.

ESD relayed that when it learned of a walkout on Feb. 4 that it informed students that demonstrations were not allowed on school grounds and that any absences for a walkout would be considered unexcused.

The same communication was made to ESD families.

“Students who chose to participate were marked absent; those absences were recorded as unexcused,” the statement reads. “Any students who left campus unexcused were marked truant in accordance with the district attendance policy.”

The district also noted that it has little authority to prevent walkouts and demonstrations that do not substantially disrupt school operations.

“Families sometimes ask what schools can do to prevent walkouts or demonstrations from happening. The reality is that schools have limited authority to stop peaceful student expression,” the statement continues. “As a public school, we must balance student rights with our responsibility to maintain order and protect the rights of others. While we cannot always prevent a demonstration from occurring, we can and will respond if the behavior on campus becomes unsafe or disruptive to the learning or the well-being of others.”