‘Stay out of Seattle’: Washington leaders brace for possible federal takeover in Seattle
Sep 30, 2025, 7:45 AM | Updated: 7:51 am
In the wake of the federal takeover of Portland, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown held a news briefing at Seattle City Hall Monday morning. They said they wanted to send a message, first to Washingtonians and Seattleites, specifically.
“We don’t need the National Guard here,” Brown said. “We don’t need the United States Military here. We don’t need President Trump continuing his reckless and destructive behavior in the great state of Washington.”
“There are no insurrections here,” Harrell said. “So I repeat our message to this president is very simple: stay out of Seattle.”
AG Brown and Mayor Harrell were joined by other county and city elected officials. Neither has received any official notification that Seattle might be targeted, only what they’ve read on social media.
They are working closely with government leaders in Oregon, California, and Illinois to learn more about what precipitated the takeovers there, so Washington and learn and prepare for what might happen in Seattle.
“It is unprecedented. It’s un-American, and I think it is ultimately unlawful, and so anything that would be attempted here, we will be prepared to respond,” Brown said. “Washingtonians have spent many years loudly and clearly rejecting his [President Trump’s] vision for America, and it is entirely possible, based on the President’s comments, that what we are seeing in Portland will be attempted here.”
In advance of any possible takeover, Harrell plans to sign a new executive order later this week.
“My executive order makes sure we communicate to all of our communities that we will protect our local control,” Harrell said.
Harrell added that, in spite of what the Trump administration has said and threatened, the proof is in the statistics—Seattle is safer than the president suggests.
“Crime is down. Safety is up. Violent crime is down. Property crime is down. Homicides are down 44%. With 130 officers so far this year, police hiring is three times higher today than a year ago,” Harrell said.
Brown and Harrell both said they are in contact with Washington Governor Bob Ferguson to coordinate and communicate any actions or reactions, legal or otherwise, and to plan how the state and the city push back going forward.
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Trump authorizes federal takeover in Portland
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he is “directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
“I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary,” he continued. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The order was surprising to many in the Pentagon, according to Politico.
An official told the media outlet they expect the directive to be similar to actions in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where the National Guard focused on supporting federal and local law enforcement, but little else.
Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest
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