Six people pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges in connection with a Gaza cease-fire protest that blocked Interstate 5 in Seattle in January.
Five of the six people were charged in the Jan. 6 incident with second-degree criminal trespass and disorderly conduct by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The sixth person was charged only with disorderly conduct. As misdemeanors, the charges are punishable by up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine.
The six entered their pleas in person during their arraignment in the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle, where Judge Andrea Jamon did not find probable cause for three of the trespassing charges.
The defense argued the source material for Washington State Patrol’s investigation had “suspect levels of reliability,” and that their clients were “cherry-picked” for prosecution.
Police identified the six through social media posts they made at the protest or videos taken by people live-posting from the area. In one case, a social media account posted a photo of the car blocking the road and a defendant was found to be the registered owner, according to court documents.
Jamon did find cause for all six for the disorderly conduct charges.
Jamon also granted the defense’s request for the release of Seattle police body camera footage, as long as it is also provided to the state. Only State Patrol footage is currently available.
County prosecutors were not present in court.
The six will next appear in court on June 6, June 17 and July 8.
The State Patrol in February referred charges against 12 people for the January protest, but King County prosecutors sent the cases back to the agency, writing they couldn’t move forward without additional evidence.
The prosecutor’s office typically charges felony cases, the office’s district court unit also handles alleged misdemeanors on state roads. According to the criminal complaints, prosecutors said the five people charged with trespassing “remained unlawfully … upon premises of Washington State Department of Transportation” and all six people illegally obstructed vehicle and pedestrian traffic when they were in the roadway.
The blockade of cars and protesters on the freeway halted northbound lanes of I-5 and caused a 6-mile backup. Hundreds more people gathered on nearby overpasses. Organizers and attendees said they were protesting to draw attention to the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to decry American support for Israel.
Seattle police and State Patrol descended onto I-5 during the protest but did not move in to physically disperse the group or make arrests at the time — a move that later drew ire from some elected officials and community members.
“Police had to identify people later on based on admissible evidence, which creates a different legal scenario compared to when someone is booked and identified and fingerprinted the same day,” Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney wrote in an April email, comparing the investigation to the arrests of 46 people during a pro-Palestinian protest that blocked the expressway leading to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in April.
Seattle Times staff reporter Lauren Girgis contributed to this report.