6 protesters arrested after descending on Seattle City Hall to demand support for refugees

Protesters banged on windows outside Seattle City Hall on Tuesday afternoon, rattling the council members inside.

The demonstrators were activists and asylum-seekers, many of whom recently found their way to King County. Struggling to secure housing, hundreds of these new arrivals have moved into tents on muddy church grounds in Tukwila; those slightly more fortunate have moved into hotels, but even that is a dicey proposition, with only days or weeks guaranteed at a time.

Every day is a question mark for these asylum-seekers. Recently, Save the Kids, a national nonprofit, put down a credit card for a hotel in Kent, but that maxed out, and the hotel manager said he would have to kick out the refugees.

The City of Seattle paid the bill at the eleventh hour, even though the hotel was outside city limits.

RELATED: Time, money runs low for asylum-seekers sheltering at Seattle area hotels

The demonstrators said they believed the money for ShotSpotter, police technology that helps cops detect gunshots, should be spent on housing instead.

In a twist of irony, City Council was meeting to honor the late George Fleming, the first Black state senator and a champion of low-income housing. The council had asked that the chamber be cleared, with the exception of Fleming’s family.

Ultimately, six protesters were arrested for criminal trespass, according to the Seattle Police Department news blotter. They were booked into the King County Jail.

“Those who were part of the disruption were told to leave the chambers, but they refused and were told they would be arrested if they continued,” the police blotter read.

Inside the chambers, council members said they felt threatened as protests continued outside.

“Our physical safety is being threatened by the actions of the demonstrators outside,” said Councilmember Cathy Moore of District 5. Moore is a former King County judge. “The windows could easily be broken, and then we’ll have a mob scene. I’m asking for police presence to arrest those individuals.”

“I feel physically threatened,” Moore continued. “We are shutting down the operations of our democracy because of mob action, and it is not to be tolerated.”

Councilmember Sara Nelson noted that the chambers were empty, and that they should continue.

Later in the evening, the Seattle City Council issued a brief statement about the “disturbance,” saying, “That disturbance was caused by a group of protesters and not refugees, who the City of Seattle has been working with to provide shelter.”