Police serve warrant in May Day investigation

A SWAT team descended on an apartment connected to members
of the Occupy movement early Tuesday morning, looking for
evidence in the continued investigation into May Day
protests, the Seattle Police Department said Tuesday.

Just before 6:00 a.m., police served a search warrant at
the residence in the 1100 Block of 29th Avenue South. Police
described the four occupants as “cooperative.”

Unconfirmed accounts of the raid, as released by Occupy
Seattle, describe a chaotic scene that involved officers
“breaking down the door,” “holding drawn tactical rifles,
“yelling over a loudspeaker,” and using a flash bang
grenade.

Occupants of the residence claim police handed them a copy
of the search warrant, which they say stated that
detectives were specifically looking for “anarchist
materials.”

According to an article posted by Kasama, a
website and
self-described “communism project” that has ties to the
Occupy movement, police seized “basic stuff,” which
included a zip-up sweater, one glove, a blue beanie and a
pink scarf.

Police posted on the Seattle Police Blotter that the
search “resulted
in evidence that will be useful in the investigation.”

Contacted by 97.3 KIRO FM, an Occupy Seattle spokesperson,
who also lives at the residence but was not home during
the raid, says those who were involved would speak to
their lawyers before making a statement to the media.

A person described in the Kasama article as a neighbor and
witness to the incident, Natalio Perez, calls himself a
“revolutionary” for the Kasama Project on his Facebook page.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Police Department has stated that
the investigation into the May Day protests will continue
and there may be more search warrants in the future.

Detectives ask that those with information about the
protest contact SPD’s May Day tip line at (206) 233-2666
or MayDay2012@Seattle.gov.