Rantz: 5 arrested in downtown Seattle as Black bloc activists vow to ‘express our displeasure’ on the streets this Election Day

Update November 5, 2024, at 7 p.m.: The Seattle Police Department (SPD) announced via an X post it arrested five protestors in connection with property damage along 12th Avenue East and East Pike Street. SPD said additional property damage was taking place as the group neared 13th Avenue and Pine Street.

However, SPD said the group has now broken up.

“We will update here with additional information if anything changes,” police stated.

Police previously stated that announcements were being made to the crowd via loudspeakers and that the group had dwindled to a dozen people.

Breaking: Seattle Police shut down the Antifa election night riot in the area near the former CHAZ autonomous zone occupation. pic.twitter.com/UDq6BrbtxO

— Andy Ngo 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 6, 2024

Original story:

Far-left, antisemitic activists are vowing Election Day chaos in Seattle because “a win for Trump or Harris is a win for genocide abroad and a militarized police state at home.”

Flyers have been posted in the Capitol Hill neighborhood declaring, “Everything is f***ed.” It asks activists to “express our displeasure in the streets” with a meet-up at Cal Anderson Park at 6 p.m. They claim Israel is committing “a new Holocaust.”

These flyers ask activists to “wear bloc,” a reference to black bloc, a uniform favored by criminal activists who cover themselves in black clothing, masks, sunglasses and other items to mask their identity. It makes it difficult for police to identify them when they’re committing acts of vandalism or violence. There’s no group listed as responsible for the flyer.

A separate digital flyer, posted by the  Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO-Seattle), offers a similar message: “No matter which side, stop funding genocide!” It also promotes a meet-up at 6 p.m. at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle and declares, “Out of the voting booth, into the streets!” (As a mail-in ballot state, Washington does not have voting booths).

More from Jason Rantz: High school teacher asks students to show proof Donald Trump is a fascist

ALERT: Businesses in Portland, Ore. are boarding up windows and storefronts as far-left Antifa activists plan “direct action” over their dissatisfaction with the election.

Seattle activists are planning to go “into the streets” in anger, too: https://t.co/VTrm3H1so3 pic.twitter.com/e8LanRuHvQ

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) November 5, 2024

How many chaos-seeking Seattle activists will show up on Election Day?

Seattle Police are aware of the scheduled gathering and a spokesperson said they “have plans in place.”

“The SPD will be on alert tomorrow evening (election night) and through the eventual announcement of a winner,” a Seattle Police Department spokesperson explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “We can’t get into exact plans or numbers though as we don’t want to tip our hand too early.”

Governor Jay Inslee announced he’s placed the National Guard on standby should Election Day violence break out.

In Vancouver, an activist used an incendiary device to set fire to ballot boxes, damaging and destroying hundreds of ballots. The device had the markings, “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” on them.

More from Jason Rantz: Why do dead people keep getting ballots in Washington?

Is Seattle ready for a mass demonstration or violent Antifa-style antics?

It’s unclear how many activists plan to attend the Cal Anderson events.

Since the end of Black Lives Matter activism that defined the so-called “Summer of Love” in 2020, the militant wing of the progressive movement has struggled to maintain momentum. But when Hamas committed a deadly terrorist attack against Israel, murdering, raping and kidnapping innocent Jews, local far-left activists were inspired to return to the streets with a new cause to commandeer.

But their events have become diminished over the last several months with only about 20 or so showing up to their weekend events. An Election Day call could, however, inspire more to come out. If the crowd becomes large or rowdy, Seattle Police staffing may become an issue.

Since the defund movement, the department has lost over 600 police officers and there’s been no sign that recruitment efforts to address the mass exodus of officers have paid off.

More from Jason Rantz: Will Israel and Gaza ads scandal hurt Kamala Harris in PA and MI?

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