Dozens Arrested During Rioting in Seattle

Rioters in Seattle on Saturday set fire to a construction site for a King County juvenile detention facility and courthouse. They later hurled explosives and other projectiles at police officers.

The planned demonstration, organized by a group pushing to abolish the Seattle Police Department, prompted concerns of violence. A number of business owners boarded up their stores in the hopes of protecting them.

After gathering in the Capitol Hill



neighborhood around 1 p.m.—where the so-called autonomous zone was located—the crowd traveled about 10 blocks south to 12th Avenue and Jefferson Street and torched the construction site.

A group of approximately a dozen people was responsible for the fire, according to the Seattle Police Department. Firefighters responded and put the flames out.

The group then headed north, smashing windows at businesses as they traveled along 12th Avenue.