Seattle SWAT raids home of Occupy activists
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July 11, 2012
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2012-07-11
Russia Today
A Seattle, Washington apartment rented by members of the local Occupy Wall Street chapter was raided and ransacked by the local SWAT team early Tuesday as part of an investigation into alleged anarchist actions.
In a press release published after the event by a spokesperson with Occupy Seattle, the group says that all four residents of the Judkins Park area apartment were sleeping during the 6 a.m. raid. Authorities still used a battering-ram like device to break down a door and deploy stun grenades, however, a non-lethal weapon used to disorient its victims.
“Suddenly we heard the bang of their grenade, and the crashing as police entered the apartment,” neighbor Natalio Perez tells the Kasma Project website. “The crashing and stomping continued for a long time as they tore the place apart.”
The Seattle Police Department has since explained to the public that the raid was in conjunction with an ongoing investigation into protests that occurred during the May Day actions earlier this year. The police add that by executing the search warrant, they were able to collective “evidence that will be useful” in their ongoing probe.
Last month, reporters at the Puget Sound Anarchists website wrote that the FBI was behind repeated attempts into investigating Occupy Seattle and organizers that authorities believe were involved in the May 1, 2012 protests.
“Over the past few weeks the FBI has contacted and spoken with at least two individuals who have been involved in Occupy Seattle. In both instances, the agents have threatened to take these individuals away from their loved ones. From what is known, these individuals were contacted because of the events surrounding the May 1st General Strike,” the website reported.
One resident of the Seattle apartment adds to the Kasma Project site that a warrant made available by officers on Tuesday suggested “they were looking for specific pieces of clothing supposedly connected with a May First incident.”
“This warrant says that they were specifically looking for ‘anarchist materials’ — which lays out the political police state nature of this right there,” the source adds.
Phillip Neel was one of the Occupiers residing in the apartment during the raid, and was actually presented with the search warrant used by the SWAT team. Describing it to the Fire Dog Lake website, Neel says cops were concerned with locating “black hoodies, face masks, goggles,” and other items that could have been tied to the May First protests.
Blogger Kevin Gosztola adds in his report that police are reported to have confiscated clothing and sunglasses, and that “Fliers and a pamphlet that anyone could’ve picked up at any Occupy action were seized.”
Following the raid, around 50 people gathered for a protest that took demonstrators around the Seattle Police Department’s East Prestinct, the Seattle Times reports. No arrests were made during the early morning raid or during that evening’s protest.
…article originally appeared on rt.com
Tags: weapon, grenades, search, reuters, battering, warrant, seattle, department
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“EMERICA”, FLASH NEWS! Another U.S.Citizen having their life destroyed! Lets put this on the list, number one gagillion. More then likely the real number of times citizens have been brutilized by so-called law enforcement on a federal,state and county level. All of this comes to you with the blessings and direct orders from your terrorist leader. Crime is allowed to run out of control, you will become a victim because we say so. If you attempt to deffened yourself or your family you WILL be arrested and we WILL ruin your life! If you attemt to protect yourself from a corrupt so-called law enforcement officer and you decide you don’t want to be beatin to death, they are going to protect the scum sucking cop and your life is going to be ruined by the court system. They don’t care because their making money off law enfocement corruption. If you decide that you are not actually a sheep or a coward and speak out against a totally corrupt goverment, judicial or law enforcement system then they are going to victimize you. And fifty years from now they will feed your grandchildren with bullshit and tell them, oh! they were just a bunch of hippy raticles who wanted change. They didn’t want to be victimized or enslaved, how silly is that. Your not a real emerican unless your willing to be a victim. That is another reason the terrorist goverment wants to gain control over the internet so people won’t be able to show videos and pictures and recordings of their corrupt activities. How much is enough? How much will you take? How much abuse will you endure before you say, enough is enough. When your so sick and tired of crime and corruption and being taxed to death; where you work almost six months out of the year to pay for all the taxes and fees forced on you by goverment and emerican business, you may decide that you have had enough. But your there now! So what next? I guess you’ll just have to make a decision. One, You can stand up like someone that has some self respect, some dignity, some last little trace of humanity deep down inside and fight for your right to exist! FREE from being owned and enslaved. Or TWO. You can continue to live in your disillusioned state, grazzing for the rest of your miserable lives. That is of course only until they show up at your front door to drag you and your family away to the fema camps. That is if you even make it that far. Maybe along the way they’ll decide to stop and rape your family will they beat you and make you watch. That’s what these kind of people do! Good luck to those of you who decide to become human beings again and actually realize that we will have to fight and give are lives and ourselves to ensure that humanity can survive.That we can destroy this evil that is trying to destroy us and our families so future generations can have TRUE FREEDOM and PEACE.