Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

We’re back with another weekly reporting round-up from July 6- 12. Last week, we published 11 articles on topics like Seattle’s CCTV surveillance, the upcoming Erika Kirk event, a sexual assault at the Northwest Detention Center, Seattle elections, and more. Let’s take a look at what you may have missed!

Northwest Detention Center guard reportedly sexually assaulted detainee who is a veteran

Garnet Smith, a 44-year-old U.S. military veteran has been detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma for over nine months, and recently reported to several groups that a guard employed by the GEO Group sexually assaulted him. About Face, the Philippines-U.S. Solidarity Organization (PUSO) Tacoma, and Defend Migrants Alliance are calling for his immediate release, accountability for the sexual assault, and justice for all detainees.

“Garnet described the incident as an aggressive and humiliating violation,” Eric Ard from About Face said.

Read more here.

Far-right propagandists bring attention to protest of Erika Kirk event; one encourages “every patriot” in WA to “fight back”

Several Seattle organizations are planning to protest Erika Kirk’s July 24, “Make Heaven Crowded Tour,” event taking place at the Pursuit NW Church’s Kirkland location. Now, far-right propagandists with connections to the White House are drawing attention to and calling on “patriots,” to resist the protest with all their might.

“NEW: Indivisible Eastside and several other far-left activist groups are targeting Erika Kirk’s visit to Pursuit Church in Kirkland. I fully expect every patriot in the state to show up and fight back,” Jonathan Choe posted on X.

Jonathan Choe was fired from KOMO News in 2022 after promoting a Proud Boys rally in Olympia, and he now works at the Discovery Institute, and contributes to Turning Point USA (TPUSA), which is sponsoring Kirk’s event. He met with White House officials last fall, including Trump and Pam Bondi, and has been videographed attacking leftist protesters for content.

Click here to read more.

Patriot Front marches in Kirkland weeks ahead of Erika Kirk “Make Heaven Crowded Again” event

Several residents in Kirkland peeked out their blinds to find a single file line of young men wearing khakis, blue shirts, white neck gaiters, and tan hats marching past on July 11. These men, about 20 in total, are members of the neofascist white supremacist group, Patriot Front.

“Several people saw a couple dozen of them walk into the 70th Street overpass on 405 and show some signs,” a Kirkland resident told TtS. “We’re preparing for the Erika Kirk mess to be in our neighborhood on the 24th.”

Concerned community members posted footage of Patriot Front’s presence in Kirkland on a Facebook neighborhood group and Reddit, although moderators deleted all posts— whitewashing the fact that members of extremist groups are very much present in King County.

Read the full article here.

APL Puget Sound Division calls on community to combat fascists in Seattle with non-splintered action and self defense

Several people associated with the American Party of Labor (APL) Puget Sound Division spoke about the need for collective community action and self defense at the July 7, Seattle City Council meeting. These remarks come after far-right content creators harassed LGBTQ+ community members in Cal Anderson Park for the past several months for the purpose of clip farming, which on at least one occasion, led to these bad actors drawing a handgun.

“Your $486 million police force defended violent criminals against the masses of innocent and frustrated people during Pride Month, when these people should feel the safest in our city,” Scott, a candidate member of APL Puget Sound Division said. “You all used Queer issues as a platform for election, for photo opps, but when the Queer community is in clear danger from Nazi-organizations, you are silent and instead send the child-beating-brigade of SPD to defend these vile bigots.”

APL Puget Sound Division press secretary, Ivanna, spoke about Christopher Leahy, who is accused of murdering 19-year-old Juniper Blessing, a Transgender UW student, on the night of Mother’s Day while finishing up her load of laundry. Ivanna noted how the APL Puget Sound Division will tactically train and assist Trans community members when it comes to protecting their lives.

“We will arm them to the teeth,” Ivanna added.

Click here to read more.

Stadium District CCTV cameras are turned off, Mayor Wilson states, but activists demand they be uninstalled

On the morning of June 27, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced that the over 20 CCTV cameras in the Stadium District that were installed ahead of the FIFA World Cup have been turned off. She added that the cameras will remain off until an audit of their effectiveness is delivered, which she expects later this fall. Regardless of consistent scrutiny she’s received regarding surveillance expansion in the city, she patted herself on the back for following through on one promise she made to turn the cameras off— after repeatedly and falsely claiming they would not be turned on to begin with unless there was a “credible threat.”

“Effective this morning, the Stadium District cameras are turned off. This follows through on the commitment I made last month that these particular cameras would only be turned on for the duration of the FIFA World Cup in Seattle, because of its high global profile and the unique circumstances surrounding the event,” Mayor Wilson said.

But protests against these cameras will continue, as activists have repeatedly stated the mayor has walked back her campaign promises, like not expanding the use of CCTV cameras.

Read the full article here.

Cameras down now: activists demand removal of CCTV cameras instead of simple deactivation

Members of the Community Not Cameras rallied at Seattle City Hall Plaza on the afternoon of July 7, where speakers argued that deactivating the Stadium District cameras is only the first step in changing Seattle’s surveillance policies.

Phil Mocek, who is computer software engineer, told attendees that surveillance cameras still remain active in other parts of Seattle.

“We did look closer and recognized that the cameras are still on downtown, at the CID and at Aurora,” Mocek said. “I want rules for these as long as they are up.”

The full article is available at this link.

District 5 candidate Nilu Jenks discusses how her family’s journey from Iran shaped her vision for Seattle

The top campaign issues of Nilu Jenks, who is running in the Seattle City Council District 5 race, started a long time before she entered the political realm. Jenks, who works as a voting rights advocate, was born in Oklahoma to Iranian parents who came to the U.S. as university students. The family planned to return to Iran after finishing up their studies, but the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War forced them to remain.

“My parents had intended going back,” Jenks told TtS. “I was supposed to grow up there.”

With her Middle Eastern roots, Jenks said she is “pro-Palestinian,” and concerned about AI’s growing role in warfare and surveillance. Jenks also brought up concerns about Seattle’s expanded use of surveillance technology, citing CCTV surveillance cameras and automatic license plate readers (ALPRs).

Read more about Jenks’s campaign here.

First Hill tenants say no evictions or rental spikes at rally during ongoing battle with real estate investment firm

Earlier this spring, Nordic Partners Investments bought up Seattle’s historic John Winthrop Apartments and have been terrorizing tenants through non-mandatory seismic retrofitting with pending forced relocation, construction, and alleged harassment. On the evening of July 10, about 32 Nordic tenants, neighbors, and supporters rallied at First Hill Park to demand Nordic halt evictions and displacement, provide three months of back rent during the construction period, improve communication from property management, and no rental increases.

The uncertainty surrounding the planned relocation weighed heavily on many of the tenants who spoke. One resident said they have lived in the John Winthrop building for 32 years, while Kristine White described the emotional toll of potentially losing the place she has called home.

“There is this overbearing anxiety and uncertainty of losing my home. I love living here,” White said. “I do like going to my dance classes here. I do love the communities I’ve found in first Hill and Capitol Hill.”

Click here to read more.

Amazon Worker Intifada disrupts Amazon-sponsored SeaFair Fourth of July firework display, calls out whitewashing Israeli crimes

As crowds gathered at Gas Works Park to celebrate America’s 250th Independence Day, protesters took to both the shore and the water to denounce Amazon’s ties to Israel during the company-sponsored Seafair “Fourth of July,” fireworks event. Organizers with Amazon Worker Intifada (AWI) paired a land rally complete with chants, flyers, and Palestinian flags, with a coordinated flotilla that included kayaks and a tugboat where they hoisted a 35-foot-long banner towards the holiday crowd that read, “Amazon Delivers Genocide in Gaza.”

“They [Amazon] are also using this event to whitewash Israeli crimes in Palestine. Shame!” one AWI activist said into a speakerphone from a kayak on Lake Union.

Access the full article here.

Fascist collaborator Bennett Haselton defends reputation to no one in particular at Seattle City Council meeting

At the July 7 Seattle City Council meeting, Bennett Haselton, a fascist collaborator and regular public comment provider defended his reputation to no one in particular. TtS has reported on Haselton clip farming content for far-right MAGA content creators, and several allegations, including following women and Queer activists to their cars after events. Several different victims flagged what they called sexually predatory behavior in 2025 to TtS.

At the council meeting, Haselton said men and women in activism spaces are guilty of saying harmful things.

“But sometimes, if a woman says something offensive and a man criticizes her for it, they often retaliate by calling it, “sliding in DMs,” or “harassment,’” Haselton stated.

Learn more here.

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