09:51 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 31, 2006

By PAUL AKER / KING 5 News and Wire Reports

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Part of Olympia is on edge after police, protesters and one city leader clashed with each other during an anti-war rally Tuesday night.  Twenty-two people were arrested, and both activists and police say more could happen later today.

About three dozen anti-war activitists returned Wednesday to protest the docking of a military ship which will carry Stryker vehicles and other equipment from Fort Lewis to Iraq. While no clashes were reported as of noon, the protesters were forced to move from a park near the port. At the same time, Port workers washed away anti-war messages scribbled in chalk along the sidewalks.

More than 150 activists had crowded the port Tuesday night. The peaceful protest turned violent after a handful of people charged through a chain-link fence and went toe-to-toe with police.

While he was also very unhappy with the war in Iraq, Olympia City Councilman T.J. Johnson said he doesn’t think violence is the way to make that point.  But Tuesday night, as pepper spray was flying and police were marching, Johnson stood in their way.  As police used batons and brute force to bring the crowd under control, Johnson refused to back down. 

“After I saw some people pushed down who were obeying the police command of moving backwards, I went over to explain to them that they were moving backwards, at which point I was pushed by a State Patrol officer,” said Johnson.  “I decided at that point I wasn’t going to move backwards any further.  I thought what they were doing was unnecessary and provocative.”

Johnson ultimately huddled with police leaders in an effort to de-escalate the situation.  As for police, they said they acted absolutely properly, adding “Johnson acted irresponsibly and set a bad example.”

Protesters chanted "Out of Olympia, Out of Iraq" as they rocked the chain-link gate, and at least three tried to use wooden boards to pry the gate open, The Olympian newspaper reported. A 50-ton piece of equipment was moved against the inside of the gate to reinforce it. Sheriff's deputies used a loudspeaker to warn demonstrators repeatedly before firing the first blast of pepper spray.

KING

Several people were arrested Tuesday.

While Johnson says police provoked the crowd, Thurston County's Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Kimball said officers used restraint.

"Our actions last night were all in direct response to the protestors. In other words, we were responding to them. I believe our actions were at the lowest level of force available to us," Kimball said.

"The majority were very peaceful, nonviolent, just exercising their constitutional rights," sheriff's Capt. Bradley Watkins said. "There was a group that was trying to damage port property.

"We asked them several times to stop. We warned them that if they did not stop, we would deploy pepper spray," he said.

Activists began watching for a military ship more than a week ago after learning that Stryker vehicles and other Army gear from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, a 4,000-soldier unit stationed at Fort Lewis, was being shipped to Iraq through the port.

Sixteen people were arrested in three days last week, mostly for pedestrian interference, during protests against convoys through the downtown area to the port from the sprawling military post between Olympia and Tacoma.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Part of Olympia is on edge after police, protesters and one city leader clashed with each other during an anti-war rally Tuesday night.  Twenty-two people were arrested, and both activists and police say more could happen later today.

About three dozen anti-war activitists returned Wednesday to protest the docking of a military ship which will carry Stryker vehicles and other equipment from Fort Lewis to Iraq. While no clashes were reported as of noon, the protesters were forced to move from a park near the port. At the same time, Port workers washed away anti-war messages scribbled in chalk along the sidewalks.

More than 150 activists had crowded the port Tuesday night. The peaceful protest turned violent after a handful of people charged through a chain-link fence and went toe-to-toe with police.

While he was also very unhappy with the war in Iraq, Olympia City Councilman T.J. Johnson said he doesn’t think violence is the way to make that point.  But Tuesday night, as pepper spray was flying and police were marching, Johnson stood in their way.  As police used batons and brute force to bring the crowd under control, Johnson refused to back down. 

“After I saw some people pushed down who were obeying the police command of moving backwards, I went over to explain to them that they were moving backwards, at which point I was pushed by a State Patrol officer,” said Johnson.  “I decided at that point I wasn’t going to move backwards any further.  I thought what they were doing was unnecessary and provocative.”

Johnson ultimately huddled with police leaders in an effort to de-escalate the situation.  As for police, they said they acted absolutely properly, adding “Johnson acted irresponsibly and set a bad example.”

Protesters chanted "Out of Olympia, Out of Iraq" as they rocked the chain-link gate, and at least three tried to use wooden boards to pry the gate open, The Olympian newspaper reported. A 50-ton piece of equipment was moved against the inside of the gate to reinforce it. Sheriff's deputies used a loudspeaker to warn demonstrators repeatedly before firing the first blast of pepper spray.

While Johnson says police provoked the crowd, Thurston County's Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Kimball said officers used restraint.

"Our actions last night were all in direct response to the protestors. In other words, we were responding to them. I believe our actions were at the lowest level of force available to us," Kimball said.

"The majority were very peaceful, nonviolent, just exercising their constitutional rights," sheriff's Capt. Bradley Watkins said. "There was a group that was trying to damage port property.

"We asked them several times to stop. We warned them that if they did not stop, we would deploy pepper spray," he said.

Activists began watching for a military ship more than a week ago after learning that Stryker vehicles and other Army gear from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, a 4,000-soldier unit stationed at Fort Lewis, was being shipped to Iraq through the port.

Sixteen people were arrested in three days last week, mostly for pedestrian interference, during protests against convoys through the downtown area to the port from the sprawling military post between Olympia and Tacoma.

UPDATE: The ship pulled away from the port Wednesday evening after a week of protests in which more than three dozen people were arrested. At least 100 protesters chanted "Stop that boat!" as the 950-foot cargo ship pulled away from a dock at the Port of Olympia. No protest boats were evident on the water, but armed Coast Guard vessels were standing by to intercept any boats that wandered into the area. There were no arrests.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.