Video: Olympia protesters appear in court

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OLYMPIA, Wash. - Protestors who stormed the state Capitol yesterday in a May Day rally appeared in court today.

Friends of the suspects packed into the courtroom to listen as prosecutors listed off a series of accusations.

Six young people - some with ties to other states - are now facing potential charges including malicious mischief, assault, and rioting.

Police say rocks were hurled through windows and graffiti was scrawled on the walls of the state Capitol as protests turned violent.

One of the men arrested had already been arrested on the Evergreen State campus for a riot in March.

"It's a culture, a culture with a lot of the kids that we run into down here and they give off the message that they're peaceful people, and their actions are a complete turnaround of words," said Lt. Jim Costa, of the Olympia police force.

Groups have clashed with police in Olympia three times now in two years - at the port, at the Evergreen State College campus, and now at the Capitol.

"It's been pretty violent, this is just another spin-off on that," Costa said.

Police say it's caused them to consistently re-evaluate crowd control, like when to use non-lethal weapons, including a pepper ball gun used to disperse crowds in downtown Olympia on May Day.