Seattle attorney: Protesters won't be charged if they engage with diversion programs
People who were arrested in Seattle over the past few weeks while peacefully protesting police brutality and systemic racism will not be charged, city attorney Pete Holmes said Wednesday.
“After two weeks of anguished demonstrations over the murder of George Floyd and the killing of other unarmed black men by police, it is plain to me that peaceful protestors should not be prosecuted despite having been arrested during events that have sometimes devolved into violent and destructive confrontations with Seattle police and supporting law enforcement agencies," Holmes said in a statement.
“If you’re marching the streets, peacefully speaking your voice and out after the now-cancelled curfew, I have no interest in charging you with a crime."
Holmes said his office will also not file criminal charges against people arrested during the protests for other misdemeanors, such as reckless endangerment or lower level assaults, if they agree to engage with a diversion program. He said his office has been working with CHOOSE 180, a nonprofit diversion program that will accept anyone referred who was arrested during recent protests.
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