‘Creating conditions of anti-Asian violence’: Massage parlor group accuses Bothell police of harassment after 5 shut down
Apr 20, 2026, 6:31 PM | Updated: 6:32 pm
Bothell police raid a massage parlor. (Photo courtesy of the Bothell Police Department)
(Photo courtesy of the Bothell Police Department)
An organization representing Asian massage parlor workers is speaking out about a series of raids conducted in five Bothell-area parlors last week.
The Massage Parlor Organizing Project (MPOP) said the raids are nothing more than Asian harassment.
Bothell police shut down five massage parlors in downtown Bothell following citizen complaints and a Bothell Police Department (BPD) investigation.
“We had complaints. We had information,” Bothell Police Captain Mike Johnson said. “A judge signed the search warrant, and we found evidence that this is not a legitimately running massage business. This is a sex operation.”
Despite that, the parlors were shut down with the help of the Bothell Fire Department, officially due to unsafe working conditions, including faulty electrical work and inoperative smoke detectors.
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MPOP pushed back on the justification for the raids.
“The collaboration between the Bothell Police Department and the Bothell Fire Department attacking these massage parlors is creating the conditions of anti-Asian violence,” an anonymous MPOP member said. “It is an excuse to impose police oversight on immigrants, who are just trying to make a living.”
Other MPOP members echoed those concerns and called on local officials to intervene.
“We call on King County and Seattle elected officials to declare a moratorium against anti-Asian raids of massage parlors,” another anonymous MPOP member said. “We have seen acts of harassment and violence recently by the Bothell Police Department targeting Asian massage parlors and congratulating themselves on targeting trafficking.”
But police said there has been no violence, and their investigation found solid evidence that leaves little doubt about illegal activity at the five parlors.
“We found a whole bunch of condoms. Some were new, some were used, some were open and ready to be used,” Johnson said.
Police said more charges are possible, and there’s no word on whether the parlors will reopen.
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