Althouse: "Protesters with the Black Femme March stopped on the interstate on their way back to Capitol Hill after going on their nightly march to the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct."

July 6, 2020

"Protesters with the Black Femme March stopped on the interstate on their way back to Capitol Hill after going on their nightly march to the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct."

"Moments before the car struck the demonstrators, the crowd had been dancing to the Cupid Shuffle, videos show. 'It was a festive environment,' said Aaron, a protester who didn’t want his last name used out of concern for his safety. Witnesses captured video that showed a white car* heading south at a high speed around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. It swerved around two vehicles positioned as a barrier to protect protesters across the I-5 lanes. Video showed the car careened toward the protesters and struck two, sending them flying into the air.... 'I don’t know what happened, but it didn’t seem like an accident at all. He didn’t hit his brakes, he didn’t stop,' Aaron said."

From "1 protester dead, 1 injured after man drives into protesters on I-5 in Seattle" (Seattle Times).

__________________

* A white car driven by a black man. Read more about that man, Dawit Kalete, here (at Heavy.com). The white car was a Jaguar.

180 comments:

gilbar said...: White girl killed by black man
That story sounds different than
BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTER KILLED BY WHITE jaguar; 7/6/20, 5:07 AM
wendybar said...: They were all dressed in black, dancing on a highway at night....What the HELL do you expect would happen??? Common Sense people!!!!; 7/6/20, 5:13 AM
Josephbleau said...: Great, now white girl protesters are more black than real black people, let’s,party on the interstate highway system!; 7/6/20, 5:31 AM
Kevin said...: 'I don’t know what happened, but it didn’t seem like an accident at all. He didn’t hit his brakes, he didn’t stop,' Aaron said."

It’s as if he were driving on the freeway!; 7/6/20, 5:34 AM
Darrell said...: Mention the color of the car (white), but don't immediately say it was a Black driver. Inga can't rule out one of those Black white supremacists, yet. Was he wearing a Hawaiian shirt?; 7/6/20, 5:41 AM
RMc said...: "No true Black man would've run into those protesters!"; 7/6/20, 5:42 AM
RMc said...: "You've reached your limit of free articles."; 7/6/20, 5:43 AM
John henry said...: Yesterday I thought I had read that he was Ethiopian.

If so, I'd be still African-American?

Or just African?

And so all black lives matter? Or just ADOS ones?

John Henry; 7/6/20, 5:44 AM
John henry said...: Why are the police, I assume on orders from the mayor, closing a principal artery for so called protests?

It sounds more like a dance party than a contest.

This is an interstate highway, funded federally. The protest restricts interstate commerce.

Doe that allow federal intervention in stopping the protests?

Not that I think it would be a good idea. Let the citizens of Seattle see what their votes have brought.

No reason for federal govt to get involved. I'm just wondering if they could

John Henry; 7/6/20, 5:52 AM
John Borell said...: Tragic.

But people should not take to the Interstate to protest.

That leads to things like this.

I know, police shut the road down. But only because protestors were already doing this often.

Again, tragic. Again, don’t block the Interstate.; 7/6/20, 5:53 AM
Danno said...: A black man doing this will not fit the progtard narrative.; 7/6/20, 5:59 AM
Nichevo said...: This is what I mean about you being the prisoner of words, Althouse. Now I won't absolutely swear to it having just arisen from a sound sleep, but I watched the video a few times, and I don't know what this Aaron means about the fellow not using his brakes. Unless he stuck his foot through the floor to stop the car like Fred Flintstone, it looked to me like the car slowed a couple of times.

Maybe it's the usual thing of witness unreliability, or a bad angle; or maybe there's a little motivated testimony going on here. But let's see what he tells the police, or FBI, or testifies to; you can say anything you like to a friendly newspaperman.

Oh and I'm sure it's unfair to assume that you have no skepticism just because you advert to none in the words of the post; but that's all we have to go on, your words.; 7/6/20, 6:01 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Note that the Washington State Patrol had been accommodating the "protesters" by stopping traffic on I-5, instead of arresting them for blocking traffic!

I detect a certain annoyance in the WSP Captain's statement regarding "no longer allowing" this and suspect he might have been previously forced by higher-ups to stand down and not enforce the law.; 7/6/20, 6:02 AM
Nichevo said...: Or perhaps the writer is at fault here. The video showed three vehicles, not two, parked across the interstate. So, maybe just typical quality modern journalism.; 7/6/20, 6:03 AM
iowan2 said...: The simplest way to protect pedestrians on the interstate is to grant immunity to licensed drivers, that hit pedestrians on the interstate.; 7/6/20, 6:15 AM
Ann Althouse said...: The man drove around a police barrier and into an area that was blocked off for reasons he, at best, didn't know. He then hit 2 human beings — hit them hard enough that the flew into the air and looked like rag dolls as the fell to the street. It's not first degree murder, I don't think, but I don't see how you can say it wasn't a crime. And I think the city is liable for creating the dangerous environment, giving the protesters the false sense that they could dance on the interstate, which seems absurd, but they were "protected" by the barricade the police put up. Don't create a "safe" place for people if it's not actually safe.; 7/6/20, 6:17 AM
Rory said...: "It's not first degree murder, I don't think, but I don't see how you can say it wasn't a crime."

I try not to mind read, but if the guy is from East Africa he may we'll have been taught that makeshift barricades are presumptively threatening. Don't stop.; 7/6/20, 6:28 AM
TreeJoe said...: Oh let's have some fun with this article. Some more quotes from it:

"Washington State Patrol said the driver was Dawit Kelete, 27, of Seattle. He was booked into King County Jail on Saturday morning on investigation of felony vehicular assault. Troopers don’t believe impairment was a factor and said Kelete drove the wrong way on the Stewart Street off-ramp to enter the interstate, which had been partially shut down in response to protesters."

Sounds deliberate here.

"State Patrol announced Saturday evening that it would no longer allow protesters on the interstate."

Oh so you were allowing it?

"“Blocking a freeway is a crime and no longer are we going to enable that criminal conduct to continue,” said State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead, who made the decision to no longer close the interstate. “We are not going to be allowing protesters to access the freeway unimpeded, and there are consequences for criminal conduct.”

So police were ENABLING criminal conduct. And this is a consequence of that? That should be used by Dawit's defense attorney.

"Mead said additional troopers would be in the area Saturday night and “they have been instructed to enforce the law.”"

Novel concept there.

"After hitting the protesters near Olive Way, the driver went south for about two miles before police stopped him near Edgar Martinez Drive South, according to State Patrol.

State Patrol tweeted out two pictures of the driver’s car"

Sounds like something else is going on....and why tweet the driver's car but not the driver? Hmmm? Sounds racist.

"Incidents of drivers striking demonstrators have been documented across the country, including in Seattle. In June, just as Seattle’s protest movement was picking up steam, a man drove directly into the heart of protest activity in Capitol Hill and shot a man in the arm. Ten days later, a man drove into a crowd of protesters in Portland."

Incidents of drivers striking demonstrators huh? So are we saying THIS driver was deliberately striking protestors?

"“With no effective way of stopping large crowds from entering its lengthy borders, temporarily shutting the roadway is our best measure to avoid the dangerous mixture of freeway speed, vehicles, and pedestrians and to end the disruptions as quickly as possible,” State Patrol Chief John Batiste wrote in a June 27 statement."

So 10 days ago they had no effective way of stopping large crowds on the roadways, but now that an incident occurred they are no longer going to allow large crowds on the roadways? Uh-huh. Sounds completely consistent.; 7/6/20, 6:35 AM
Kirk Parker said...: I don't think the State Patrol are answerable to the mayor of Seattle; if the order to accommodate the illegal actions of the protesters came from higher up than the head of WSP, I assume it would have to have come from the governor.; 7/6/20, 6:37 AM
whitney said...: The video is insane. Those girls went through the air like rag dolls. Actually I think they were non-binary so I don't know what to call them. It's?; 7/6/20, 6:40 AM
Gotagonow said...: Oddly (to me) the barriers cars don't necessarily look like police cars and don't appear to have any flashing warning light of any kind.; 7/6/20, 6:40 AM
phwest said...: At the risk of belaboring the obvious, another factor in this is simply the time - human beings don't do their best decision making at 1:30 AM.; 7/6/20, 6:45 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: He not only hit hit them hard enough that they flew into the air and looked like rag dolls, he kept driving and didn't even slow down.

Still, he's a black guy, er, I mean a Black guy so he probably had valid reasons for doing what he did. Maybe systemic racism or somethin'.; 7/6/20, 6:49 AM
MayBee said...: And I think the city is liable for creating the dangerous environment, giving the protesters the false sense that they could dance on the interstate, which seems absurd, but they were "protected" by the barricade the police put up. Don't create a "safe" place for people if it's not actually safe.

I agree. The cities should not allow this recent fad of protesting on the highways. We already had one woman killed in the street, in Charlotte. You would think that would be enough of a warning.

I do have to say it was....odd reading Kamala Harris mourning this protester-- white-- killed by a black man. A black man she's supposedly protesting for, but now whose life is ruined. I'm guessing Harris didn't know he was black.; 7/6/20, 6:56 AM
MayBee said...: This is from the Heavy.com link:
“In a time that requires care and flexibility, we are exercising the safest means possible to avoid injuries or worse to motorists, protesters, WSDOT personnel and our troopers by closing the roadway as needed and separating protestors from vehicular traffic. With no effective way of stopping large crowds from entering its lengthy borders, temporarily shutting the roadway is our best measure to avoid the dangerous mixture of freeway speed, vehicles, and pedestrians and to end the disruptions as quickly as possible.”

After the tragedy, the State Patrol announced it wasn’t letting protesters on the freeway, writing, “The @wastatepatrol will not be allowing protesters to enter I-5. For the safety of all citizens including protesters and motorists, pedestrians walking on the freeway will be arrested.”

It's so incredibly frustrating. They say they let the protesters do it because they don't have a way to stop it, which is one more announcement of impotence that we've been seeing all over the country since the end of May.
Then they say....ok well now we aren't allowing it.

No protesters blocking Highways and living on the streets. It just can't be allowed.; 7/6/20, 7:02 AM
RBE said...: I keep sensing that the local and state "powers that be" and some of the leaders of these protesters are looking for their Kent State or their Charlottesville. I'm not blaming the protesters who are being led by fools who are looking for that moment that will live forever...manipulated to let it happen. There is no common sense left. The politicians in charge should be defunded and thrown out of office by recall vote, now.; 7/6/20, 7:02 AM
tds said...: "It's not first degree murder...'

if a redneck was driving that car, it would probably be. Now, the story will just peacefully dissolve into background noise; 7/6/20, 7:02 AM
clint said...: "Blocking a freeway is a crime and no longer are we going to enable that criminal conduct to continue..."

It seems like the driver isn't the only one with criminal exposure here. Without any evidence of intent, I don't see how you charge the driver and don't at least cite the protest organizers for reckless endangerment or the like.

I'd also like to hear more about how the driver ended up on the section of partially-closed interstate. It's hard to design traffic flow signs and barriers -- and I'd assume the protestors aren't filing detailed plans months in advance like construction workers do. Are we sure the police managed to adequately block and mark every entrance? Unlit signs can be particularly unclear at night and when there's no other traffic to follow, but if he got on far enough back from what we saw he might have had time to relax and think he was past the strangeness. How far ahead could the driver see that there were vehicles parked on the freeway? The way he swerved looked like he was surprised by them. How far ahead would he have been able to see the people dancing in the only open lane?

Given the way the U.S. papers are bending over backwards to ignore the driver's race, it's not hard to imagine that they're omitting other potentially-exculpatory details.; 7/6/20, 7:04 AM
Kevin said...: The man drove around a police barrier and into an area that was blocked off for reasons he, at best, didn't know.

Rioters have been putting up illegal barriers for weeks and assaulting the vehicles that are stopped.

Once law and order breaks down, law and order breaks down.; 7/6/20, 7:04 AM
Sydney said...: Is it customary to just use vehicles to block a freeway? When there is an accident, the police do this, but they usually have several vehicles at different points to slow people down gradually and give them warning. At night, they use flares in addition to their vehicles. At other times, for planned closings, there are signs warning you to slow down and that things are closed ahead. At night, those signs are lit.
I only know what I saw in the video. I don’t trust the news accounts to give an accurate account. (Did he really enter the ramp the wrong way?) So, based on the video, I find myself wondering if he had time to stop. Normally when driving on a freeway you assume it is safe to go a certain speed without restrictions. You do not expect vehicles to suddenly appear in your path, and when you do encounter something like that, you have to swerve to miss them. Having swerved to miss one obstacle, you do not expect pedestrians in the middle of the freeway. And also, in the dark, it is hard to see people. A car in front of me once hit a pedestrian in the predawn hours. I didn’t see the man until his body flew up in the air, and I had been looking at the corner where he had just stepped off the road in the moment before it happened.
I am inclined to believe the city is more to blame than the motorist. Unless he really was driving the wrong way.; 7/6/20, 7:05 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Seattle downtown has been out of control for months.

Seattle Capital Hill ?CHAZ / CHOP was out of control for months.

The interstate has been out of control for weeks.

There is random chaos throughout the streets in multiple neighborhoods.

A false sense of security developed, because the City took no effort to reestablish control -- indeed, they tacitly encouraged it (Summer of Love?).

Unfortunately, this is one of the better outcomes.

A disaster was bound to happen, and was most likely bound to have had racial aspects to be stoked into new riots.

A black man running into white protesters is about the calmest way for the City to have an excuse to get its shit together.

And that is fucking sick and sad.

I am Laslo.; 7/6/20, 7:06 AM
Owen said...: Will the injured “protestor” and the family of the dead one, have a right of action against the SPD or the City for failing to provide a safe place for their event*?

_____
* The name of the event, BTW, was “Darwin Awards, Regional Qualifier, Sudden Death Elimination Round.”; 7/6/20, 7:11 AM
Unknown said...: > "It's not first degree murder, I don't think, but I don't see how you can say it wasn't a crime."

HERO

He brought reality to the non-binary.; 7/6/20, 7:18 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: A scenario I have used before to describe situations like this:

Six people are at a table. There is a revolver placed before them. They are forced into playing Russian roulette.

The first person picks up the gun, holds it to head: click.

The second person picks up the gun, holds it to head: click.

The third person picks up the gun, holds it to head: click.

Pause.

The remaining three would seem to be in high anxiety, knowing their odds are getting poorer.

However.

No one actually saw the gun loaded; a person might begin to hope that the gun was never actually loaded at all -- it hasn't fired yet -- and that the outcome will be survival for all.

Seattle authorities had allowed themselves to believe that the gun wasn't really loaded.

Fate never leaves an unloaded gun on the table.

I am Laslo.; 7/6/20, 7:20 AM
doctrev said...: Nichevo said...
This is what I mean about you being the prisoner of words, Althouse. Now I won't absolutely swear to it having just arisen from a sound sleep, but I watched the video a few times, and I don't know what this Aaron means about the fellow not using his brakes. Unless he stuck his foot through the floor to stop the car like Fred Flintstone, it looked to me like the car slowed a couple of times.

7/6/20, 6:01 AM

Slowing down for a protest is SUICIDAL. You're giving up the advantage of speed and mass to the crowd, and the violent thugs will kill you and your unfortunate passengers.

The world's best counter-insurgent said that the guerilla swims among the people like a fish in water. So how do you crush the guerilla? You drain the swamp. This was a good but accidental start. May it continue.; 7/6/20, 7:28 AM
Phil 314 said...: Even Lazlo is out of humorous takes.; 7/6/20, 7:29 AM
Bob Boyd said...: And I think the city is liable for creating the dangerous environment, giving the protesters the false sense that they could dance on the interstate, which seems absurd, but they were "protected" by the barricade the police put up.

That's what I say. I feel really bad for Summer Taylor. Just a young, idealistic kid who wanted to do the right thing as she saw it.
We don't know the motives of the driver, but he was there, driving in that way, because he could, because he didn't believe there would be anyone to stop him. The city has created lawless zones and people are bound to take advantage of that in one way or another. Maybe this guy just decided it would be exciting to drive through the a barricade. Maybe he just pictured protestors shouting impotently or throwing things as he sped past. Who knows?
The young people out there in these lawless zones are playing with fire and don't even know fire is hot, but the mayor and the city council know.; 7/6/20, 7:31 AM
Temujin said...: Yes. Let's detour the constant flow of protestors in Seattle onto I-5 and then wonder aloud how someone could be hit by on oncoming car.

Kids should not be playing in traffic. This is rule #1 when you are 2 years old. Are there ANY adults left in the Northwest?; 7/6/20, 7:38 AM
tim in vermont said...: “Didn’t seem like an accident at all....”

No, because an outcome like this was almost overdetermined by the stupidity of demonstrating on an interstate, where, if you have ever driven on one, people driving over 90 mph are not uncommon, even in somewhat congested traffic. People coming from distant placed bound for distant places who have zero idea that the locals have decided to do some kind of fertility dance in one of the lanes.

Laslo nailed it though.; 7/6/20, 7:39 AM
Tina Trent said...: The beautiful child murdered in Atlanta last night outside the University Ave. Burger King "occcupied protest zone" is the third time in two weeks that a driver got stuck in the "protestors'" moving street barricades and were shot by the protestors. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was permitting this armed encampment and street blockade, killed that child.

Meanwhile, the older white female attorney in Minnesota who got stuck driving into an illegal march, abandoned her car, tried to flee, then spat in the face of a screaming 17-year old who was mobbing her with scores of others (international media accused her of using her car to block the protest then attacking the youth for no reason), was followed home by protestors who were directing other protestors to her house, and after merely slightly put hands on one 21-year old asshole ranting about re-educating her on her own front yard is arrested and charged with hate crimes.

But hey, nobody could have predicted any of this. Maybe if she had a Malcolm X poster on her mailbox, they wouldn't have staged the home invasion.; 7/6/20, 7:43 AM
Nichevo said...: I'm not blaming the protesters who are being led by fools who are looking for that moment that will live forever...manipulated to let it happen.

The manipulators are guilty as sin, and free as a bird.; 7/6/20, 7:43 AM
Mary Beth said...: The man drove around a police barrier and into an area that was blocked off

I have read that the police say the road was closed and I have read that the protesters parked some cars there as a barrier, but I have not read anything that says the police themselves blocked the road. Whenever I read that the driver "drove through the closure" I interpret that as him driving around the parked cars.

If the police blocked entrance to the freeway, did the police see him drive around their closures? Did a police car follow him to try to stop him?

Did the protesters have permits to protest there and close the freeway? If not, why was it allowed? (If so, why was it allowed?) The government who permitted that (and people who go out on a freeway dressed in black), not the driver, has the most fault for this.; 7/6/20, 7:44 AM
stlcdr said...: Blogger Rory said...
"It's not first degree murder, I don't think, but I don't see how you can say it wasn't a crime."

I try not to mind read, but if the guy is from East Africa he may we'll have been taught that makeshift barricades are presumptively threatening. Don't stop.

7/6/20, 6:28 AM
Particularly when the current media narrative is that cops are bad/racist who beat and murder black people.; 7/6/20, 7:47 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: The death is sad. I used to drive from SEATAC airport north on I-5 to Bellingham at least once a month for 15 years. I-5 trough Seattle is a choke point--hard to pass through Seattle going north or south on anything but I-5. As I understand it I-5 had been closed for "demonstrations" for 19 consecutive days prior to this incident.

Which involved (ala George Zimmerman the "white" Hispanic) a "white" Black driver in a white Jaguar which somehow got on the blocked I-5 going the wrong way, and then struck and killed a 24 year old woman from Portland named Summer Taylor. Summer Taylor was a Black Femme protestor who was a real white girl with pink hair. The color absurdities here mount up.

Laslo is right--all of this is both sick and sad.; 7/6/20, 7:48 AM
John Marzan said...: I'm worried ISIS or Al Queda might take advantage of the protesters trying to surround vehicles or not moving away when a truck approaches.

What if a 10 Wheeler truck wont stop and just plows into these people?

Dawit Kelete? hmmm...; 7/6/20, 7:51 AM
John Marzan said...: I'm worried ISIS or Al Queda might take advantage of the protesters trying to surround vehicles or not moving away when a truck approaches.

What if a 10 Wheeler truck wont stop and just plows into these people?

Dawit Kelete? hmmm...; 7/6/20, 7:51 AM
Tina Trent said...: OK, let's talk about these street blockades. They're illegal. You obviously can't get a permit for taking over an exit ramp. The political powers selectively enforce the law, force cops to stand down, and then "occupiers" attack drivers who get caught in these moving zones of organized lawlessness.

Conservatives are forced to get permits for events while leftists use the threat of violence to take over public streets. Have you ever been caught in a vehicle that's being attacked? It happened to me once, comparatively minor thing, in the eighties when my car was hit with bottles and rocks when I drove a co-worker home through a street controlled by drug dealers. It was effing terrifying. Terrifying. The worst part was having to turn around at the end of the road and go back through.

I would wait to see what really happened. The media misreporting is making their Holmodor coverage look subtle.; 7/6/20, 7:53 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Driver is black and an immigrant fom Ethiopia I think. So we need a new game to replace rock, paper, scissors. Call it car color, perp's race, immigrant. Car color beats immigrant and immigrant beats perp's race. Therefore, in this case, the car color white is to blame.; 7/6/20, 7:56 AM
Howard said...: The Universe is out of control, Laslo. I'm not shocked to see you desperately grasping for the illusion of "control" like an infant for it's pacifier. You people can't handle the truth.; 7/6/20, 7:56 AM
John Marzan said...: rare video from a different angle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBEWh873N2I

and the seattle mayor thinks it's the Summer of Love?; 7/6/20, 7:58 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: are you sure the driver wasn't a booglaoo ? the media can lie about it, and sell that lie, to willing liar-buyers.; 7/6/20, 8:06 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Of course initial Twitter hysteria was that a white supremacist hit the protestors. But now this African-American man's life is wrecked. Another victim of BLM.; 7/6/20, 8:07 AM
Tim said...: Actions have consequences. Stupidity should hurt.; 7/6/20, 8:18 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: If you look closely, none of this fits The Narrative. She still ded.

THEOLDMAN

Sad that she's dead, but her own fault for playing on the highway; 7/6/20, 8:19 AM
Tim said...: Actions have consequences. Stupidity should hurt.; 7/6/20, 8:19 AM
stevew said...: Bad decision making all around: the police, the protesters, and the driver of the car. Which of these bad decisions were made in a calm way absent stress? Those of the protesters and the police. The driver came upon an unknown, potentially threatening, situation and appears to have decided that his best option was to get through the area as quickly as possible. Highly stressed.

One protester is dead, another hospitalized. The driver's life will forever be burdened with the truth of his role in that. The police are primarily to blame for this result.; 7/6/20, 8:23 AM
MayBee said...: I am curious how much it looked like a "police barrier". As others have mentioned, that usually involves police cars and/or lights.

If it looked just like vehicles stopped on the highway, he wasn't under obligation to stop for it. And people do all kinds of things on the highway to get around blockages. I see people do the median turn or drive on the shoulder pretty frequently when there is a big highway obstruction.; 7/6/20, 8:25 AM
Inga said...: People are so hung up on skin color. Black people do evil deeds. White people do evil deeds. The color of one’s skin doesn’t guarantee that they won’t do evil deeds. Running down a protestor in the street with car by anyone of any color is an evil deed. Shooting a child is an evil deed. Shooting cops to start a race/civil war is evil, no matter the color of the evil doer. This shouldn’t confuse anyone.; 7/6/20, 8:25 AM
Rory said...: "Unless he really was driving the wrong way."

Just as a for instance, people who had to get off the road and were crawling around in the middle of the night looking for the way back on might take a stab at the only open ramp they come across. As someone said above, bad decisions get made after midnight.; 7/6/20, 8:34 AM
Sebastian said...: "Protesters with the Black Femme March"

Question for progs: is it OK if whites appropriate b(B)lack identities if they do it for prog purposes?; 7/6/20, 8:35 AM
Jersey Fled said...: PJ Media now lists 20 people dead in BLM demonstrations these past few weeks.; 7/6/20, 8:40 AM
n.n said...: The comparison to Charlottesville breaks down when we consider that Antifa coordinated to set up a trap for the driver, who panicked and their best laid plans concluded with one dead protestor. In this case, it was one driver without restriction, without threat of violence who forced an incident and one dead protestor in some, select, Black Lives Matter. In the former, the authorities betrayed the civil rights of the driver, and the latter they, once again, kneeled to the demands of the mob. The governor of the state, and the mayor until she was personally threatened, decided to kneel and bear responsibility for not taking steps to mitigate progress.; 7/6/20, 8:40 AM
Leland said...: The video shows that boogaloo was able to avoid the barricades but not those two innocent protestors that are not self-proclaimed supporters of BLM. If only there were such a thing as laws for driving and some agency to enforce them; sort of like the laws that have magically appeared regarding the ability to attend church.; 7/6/20, 8:40 AM
n.n said...: A black man running into white protesters is about the calmest way for the City to have an excuse to get its shit together.

And that is fucking sick and sad.

A residual from a Progressive era where #BabyLivesMatter would trigger an apoplectic seizure and protests. They need to lose their Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic religion, put away their wicked solutions, discover principles and reconcile.; 7/6/20, 8:44 AM
Todd said...: The highways are for cars, not protesters. They were there at night, wearing dark cloths. Stupid does not even begin to describe those folks. They used some vehicles to block lanes and decided to play in the others.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

And sure, it will ALL be the driver's fault. The folks that were playing "protest cosplay" in the street OWN this but will pay zero price. It is NEVER their fault. They should ALL be arrested.; 7/6/20, 8:48 AM
Michael McNeil said...: The driver, from what I've read, is from Eritrea, a small country near the Horn of Africa which won its independence from Ethiopia in a bloody civil war a few decades ago. Whether as Eritrea or part of Ethiopia, it's almost the epitome of a bottom-tier “third-world” country. I've also traveled a bit, and am aware that even for “third-world” countries as rich and well-developed as (e.g.) Mexico, travel books very often warn foreign visitors to Never drive at night.

It seems eminently likely that for someone from such a milieu — who decides (in the United States of America!) to nonetheless dare to drive at night — that upon encountering makeshift barricades and folk dressed in black “dancing” on the freeway at 1:30 in the morning (!), slowing down and stopping would be the very last action one would contemplate doing. Rather, the urgency would be to get past the barricades and out of there.; 7/6/20, 8:50 AM
Fernandinande said...: Note that the Washington State Patrol had been accommodating the "protesters" by stopping traffic on I-5, instead of arresting them for blocking traffic!

Chief John R. Batiste is the 21st Chief of the Washington State Patrol, and an affirmative action appointee.; 7/6/20, 8:53 AM
MadisonMan said...: human beings don't do their best decision making at 1:30 AM.
Truth. I always tell my kids : Nothing good ever happens after midnight.; 7/6/20, 8:54 AM
Wince said...: The "intersectionalities" of this story must have sent them spinning in the air like rag dolls in the newsrooms as well.; 7/6/20, 8:58 AM
Gk1 said...: "Rioters have been putting up illegal barriers for weeks and assaulting the vehicles that are stopped. Once law and order breaks down, law and order breaks down."

This. I thought about this immediately after watching the video and then seeing video of CHOP and all of the make shift horsehit they use to block streets these days. What is this Mogadishu?

What would a reasonable person do at the wee hours of 1:00am driving a route that maybe they had done for years only to encounter a curious, ad hoc barrier? I am having a hard time believing the barriers on to the highway were substantial, well lit or even in place to keep drivers off the I-5.

And we know this decision to block I-5 will go all the way up to the dimwitted governor that allowed this to happen. I'm sure discovery generated from a lawsuit of the next of kin of the dead protester will be illuminating in many ways.; 7/6/20, 9:06 AM
Charlie said...: "he kept driving and didn't even slow down."

Actually, I don't think that's true. He initially stopped but rather than being beaten to death by angry Femmes, he drove on and then stopped.; 7/6/20, 9:06 AM
dbp said...: Some of the articles have said that the WSP closed I-5 because protests spilled-over to the freeway. This is utter BS. As anyone who has wandered around Seattle knows--downtown is quite a ways in the direction of the water from the freeway. If protesters were going onto I-5, it was in order to impede North-South movement. This is huge in a metro area which is concentrated between Puget Sound and the I-5 corridor.

I won't rule out that the WSP are just idiots: I recall times when they would drive in all 5 or so lanes at exactly 55 MPH at rush hour, to calm traffic. A mile back, traffic would be at a dead-stop. The WSP might have been ordered to do this, they are under control of the state, not the Seattle government.; 7/6/20, 9:08 AM
chuck said...: Funny how all the protesters call it murder. I don't even know if Kelete broke the law to get onto the freeway, that still seems to be speculation. It's a big world, setting up to party on a freeway without lights or warning signs up the street isn't smart, things go wrong all the time. That is why people working on highways take extra precautions and airline pilots go through a checklist before takeoff. Where is the protesters' checklist?; 7/6/20, 9:10 AM
Francisco D said...: The video was horrifying.

I have no idea what was in the driver's mind except that he had a fast car and probably liked to drive fast. I don't think he hit those non-binaries on purpose.

One of the reasons I gave my wife the BMW (and bought a 4runner) is that the damn car was always speeding. Last year a traffic cop pulled me over and asked if I knew how fast I was going. I really couldn't tell. It was an open road and an open throttle.

He certainly seems liable for negligent homicide, but the fools dancing on the highway had a lot of contributory negligence. Stupid behavior on both sides.; 7/6/20, 9:15 AM
Joe Smith said...: @Rory at 6:28am makes a great point.

Apparently the NFL kicker, Sebastian Janikowski (while in college) tried to bribe a police officer to let his college roommate go after an altercation in a bar. The explanation apparently was that, having recently arrived from Poland, this was common, accepted practice. A cultural norm if you will.

Either way, don't play on the freeway at night.; 7/6/20, 9:20 AM
LYNNDH said...: Good analysis Sydney. That's what it looked like to me. Knee jerk reaction to the video is to say he did it deliberately, one should never assume that they see is actually what happened without some examination like Sydney's and not like Ann.; 7/6/20, 9:21 AM
Gregory said...: I take the Olive Way exit off of I-5 every day on my way to Amazon. There is a tight curve in I-5 just before where this accident happened. It's the kind of curve where you would usually see a warning sign and the speed limit reduced to 40mph. There is no warning sign or speed reduction, and so this is one of the most dangerous places on earth to hold a protest on an interstate. At night. Wearing black.

It's also on a straight line from downtown to Capitol Hill (the Denny overpass), and so the most convenient place for the ex-CHAZzers to protest on their way back to Capitol Hill. I believe they chose it for convenience vs any other strategy.

The on-ramps to I-5 are short, confusing, and poorly marked. My bet is the driver (who was apparently visiting Seattle....Washington State University is 5 hours away) got confused and entered from the wrong side. I've nearly done it myself.; 7/6/20, 9:23 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Rioting in Portland this weekend. Didn't make any mainstream news outlet, the only reporting I've seen was Andy Ngo in The Post Millennial.

It boggles the mind. Ten years ago everyone wanted to move to Portland and Seattle, who'd move there now?; 7/6/20, 9:29 AM
Jupiter said...: It's going to turn out that he needed to be somewhere and had no idea why fucking I-5 was shut down, so he tried to go around, and then he found himself in the middle of a bunch of unrepentant criminals known for trashing nice cars and just tried to get the Hell out of there before they trashed his. Then Bip! Bip! Anyway, they weren't Black, so fuck 'em. Plenty more where they came from.; 7/6/20, 9:36 AM
Koot Katmandu said...: I banged my head when I read in one article - The state police say they will now stop letting the protesters on the freeway. Huh? What? The state police allowed the protesters on the freeway? WTF?; 7/6/20, 9:40 AM
Narayanan said...: Even if I-5 was "closed" the idiots (police, protesters, partiers) could have partied further up the road if they had any sense.; 7/6/20, 9:41 AM
Narayanan said...: A black man running into white protesters is about the calmest way for the City to have an excuse to get its shit together.

And that is fucking sick and sad.

I am Laslo.
----------============
no wiser words can be spoken or written. thank you SIR!; 7/6/20, 9:43 AM
I'm Not Sure said...: What is the point of shutting down a freeway with a protest? Do these people think that inconveniencing others is going to make their cause seem more worthwhile, or what?; 7/6/20, 9:45 AM
Narayanan said...: clint said...
"Blocking a freeway is a crime and no longer are we going to enable that criminal conduct to continue..."

It seems like the driver isn't the only one with criminal exposure here. Without any evidence of intent, I don't see how you charge the driver and don't at least cite the protest organizers for reckless endangerment or the like.
--------=========
you also need to add WSP who did not use SOP to set up the BLOCK - NO FLASHNG LIGHT OR CONES; 7/6/20, 9:47 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: “Let no one stop you”, read a graphic Dawit Kelete once posted on Instagram — words to kill by.; 7/6/20, 9:52 AM
Narayanan said...: entered from the wrong side
----------==========
THIS IS BLAME SHIFTING NARRATIVE. who started it? by ? WSP ?

If you watch the video he did no such thing.; 7/6/20, 9:52 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: “Let no one stop you”, read a graphic Dawit Kelete once posted on Instagram — words to kill by.; 7/6/20, 9:52 AM
JB71-AZ said...: "The state police allowed the protesters on the freeway? WTF?"

If I were more cynical, I'd think it was a case of 'Giving them enough rope to hang themselves' - or providing an excuse to go "Okay, THIS is why we don't let kiddies play on the freeway. No more of this."

They've been blocking with impunity. Maybe this will make them think twice.; 7/6/20, 9:58 AM
Narayanan said...: I also read that some protesters who had vehicle on the freeway side followed and shot at him.; 7/6/20, 9:59 AM
Narayanan said...: Ann Althouse said...
The man drove around a police barrier
-------=========
Madam - you are mistaken - as I pointed out earlier there was nothing to indicate a police barrier. This was totally not SOP - almost off the books as it were.; 7/6/20, 10:02 AM
William said...: I think they'll back off from giving the victim full martyr status. They (her preferred pronoun) was in some ways the ideal victim, but, sadly for her, the villain of the piece is not up to snuff. He may very well have a reasonable defense, but, even beyond that, he was an immigrant and black. There's no way they can demonize him. My guess is that there will be no politicians speaking at her funeral.....Well, her death was not in vain. We have all learned the useful lesson that it's unwise to go dancing late at night in the center lane of interstate highways.; 7/6/20, 10:04 AM
traditionalguy said...: The video seems plain as showing the driver expecting pedestrians coming from the side of his lane of travel would stop when a car is coming. But the women were expecting the power of protest dancing would give them a right of way. It was the 2 silly women feeling safe enough to stroll out into the lanes of high speed travel on an interstate hwy who faked out the driver that was expected they were normal pedestrians. Sadly, White Car Power failed to obey a presumed Rioter Power reversing the rules of the road.; 7/6/20, 10:10 AM
Static Ping said...: When you turn your city into a war zone with the full approval of the mayor, do not be surprised when persons stop taking the law seriously, especially lesser things like half-assed road blocks. Also, don't be surprised when people get panicky when they see mobs of people where they do not belong. It's amazing how people do not respond well to reports of "peaceful" protesters pulling guns on random people and occasionally shooting at them for no reason at all.

Is this a crime? I don't know. Normally I would say yes, but Seattle's current situation is too close to Thunderdome to make any judgments without more information.; 7/6/20, 10:11 AM
John henry said...: In Puerto Rico 30 years ago we had some carjacking by people masquerading as police.

We were told that if a police tried to stop us, for speeding say, we were to put on our flashers and slow down. This showed we were not trying to escape.

Then drive to a safe area and stop. Or if we saw a second police car or the like.

In Puerto Rico, the unofficial law is between midnite and 5am,treat read lights like they are flashing. Stop then go. This was implemented after a rash of carjacking at stop lights.

There is NO Way I would stop for any barricade anywhere manned by people I didn't think were police. Especially now, especially at night.

John Henry; 7/6/20, 10:12 AM
ALP said...: The on-ramps to I-5 are short, confusing, and poorly marked. My bet is the driver (who was apparently visiting Seattle....Washington State University is 5 hours away) got confused and entered from the wrong side. I've nearly done it myself.
*********
Indeed; a co-worker lost their daughter in the area years ago, head-on collision with a car going the wrong way on an exit ramp.

What makes my head hurt is this: all this protesting is caused by bad police behavior, yet this group *trusted the police* to keep them safe. Makes no sense. For months police have been chasing down joy riders on I-5 and other highways empty due to covid lockdowns.

Having watched a fairly long video of the gathering - it is even sadder that this was basically a dance party. No signs with demands, no real "this is a serious cause" feel at all. Just goofing off on the freeway. Ridiculous.; 7/6/20, 10:14 AM
Narayanan said...: John Marzan said...
rare video from a different angle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBEWh873N2I
----------===========
thanks for that.
I withdraw some of my remarks.
previously I had only seen the last bit which looked like he was entering the on ramp at that intersection.; 7/6/20, 10:22 AM
rcocean said...: Aaron is "concerned for his safety" ! What bullshit. The MSM continues to protect and help Antifa by refusing to identify them or explain who and what they are. As for the news Story, I've noticed the media (Marching in lockstep as usual) shift the focus from the driver (who's black) to the car.

It was a white car. It was luxury car. It was a car that killed. It was a car that didn't slow down. That car drove too fast. What a bad car! That car needs to be punished.

I'm waiting for the phrase: "The protesters and a car were on the freeway and violence broke out"; 7/6/20, 10:22 AM
Yancey Ward said...: "Fate never leaves an unloaded gun on the table."

I am going to steal this without shame.

Not really- you will get a citation, but the analogy is pretty powerful here.; 7/6/20, 10:22 AM
rcocean said...: The real mystery is why the middle class folks in Seattle and Portland love Antifa, rioting and violence so much. Maybe they get a vicarious thrill from it. Or maybe they're just too passive and conformist. Anyway, no matter how incompetent and how many people die, they will re-elect the same people. Like all the Democrat sheep, they just ACCEPT and follow the party line.; 7/6/20, 10:25 AM
Anonymous said...: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I note that those cars blocking the highway were not showing lights. no flares, no reflectors. It's almost like they wanted to cause accidents.; 7/6/20, 10:32 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: The police barrier was almost certainly at the entrance to the freeway, not simply out on the road near the parked cars, which may be why Kelete entered through the exit, and drove the wrong way.; 7/6/20, 10:33 AM
bagoh20 said...: If you find the phrase "All Lives Matter" offensive then you don't need to care about this.; 7/6/20, 10:38 AM
rcocean said...: The real mystery is why the middle class folks in Seattle and Portland love Antifa, rioting and violence so much. Maybe they get a vicarious thrill from it. Or maybe they're just too passive and conformist. Anyway, no matter how incompetent and how many people die, they will re-elect the same people. Like all the Democrat sheep, they just ACCEPT and follow the party line.; 7/6/20, 10:42 AM
reader said...: Two things my mother taught me.

1. If you are pulled over put your window down halfway, keep your hands at 10 and 2, don’t reach for anything in the car (even before they get to you) until they tell you to, be respectful, apologize, don’t act like an idiot. If you didn’t do anything wrong it will be easier to prove if you don’t act like a freak.

She later amended this to include if you are pulled over slow down, put your flashers on but don’t stop until you are in a populated area...There had been a problem with a guy impersonating an officer and raping women.

2. Don’t ever walk on the freeway. It doesn’t matter if your car broke down, it is too dangerous. Stay inside. If it’s at night turn off the car and your lights. A drunk will drive into the back of your car if the rear lights are on. If you get a flat tire keep driving, we’ll get a new rim.; 7/6/20, 10:43 AM
Big Mike said...: It's amazing how people do not respond well to reports of "peaceful" protesters pulling guns on random people and occasionally shooting at them for no reason at all.

If “peaceful” BLM protestors will shoot to death an 8 year old black girl then they’ll shoot anybody, and that includes YOU. You’ d think people like Inga and Howard and Freder and especially ARM would be ashamed of their support for allegedly “peaceful” protestors who murder black children. Apparently none of them have sufficient conscience to feel a sense of shame.; 7/6/20, 10:44 AM
Krumhorn said...: I confess that I cheered when I saw the video of those protestors smacked hard and thrown high into the air. I wasn’t cheering their personal injuries so much as the payoff of their stupidity dancing in the middle of the freeway ending so predictably. As Gump’s mamma said, “stupid is as stupid does”.

......well the personal injuries too.

- krumhorn; 7/6/20, 10:44 AM
Yancey Ward said...: I have watched every single video of this event that I can find- I don't think murder or even simple manslaughter charges are going to stick. It appears that the two women, along with several other protesters tried to get the driver to stop by getting into his path, and at a point when he simply didn't have the time to react to stop or even avoid them.

In fact, if you are going to get any charges to stick, you will have to have solid proof that he entered the freeway illegally, or that he tried to go around the "barriers" the protestors set up at an otherwise dangerous speed. All drivers have come across stopped cars in the middle of the interstate in the middle of the night- and most of us are very careful about getting around them, but I have personally observed drivers doing so in a dangerous fashion on multiple occasions in 37 years of driving. This really could have just been a very tragic accident.; 7/6/20, 10:44 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: The punchline comes when the wokebitch finds out that the man who hit her with his Jag and killed her comrade is a black immigrant. THAT is high-performance art!; 7/6/20, 10:46 AM
Birkel said...: Royal ass Inga is delightfully close to claiming all lives matter.; 7/6/20, 10:47 AM
Big Mike said...: Ann Althouse said...
The man drove around a police barrier
-------=========
Madam - you are mistaken

@Narayanan, give it up. Althouse is a foolish old liberal who believes whatever she reads in the newspapers.; 7/6/20, 10:49 AM
Kevin said...: During Obama's term we got "a white Hispanic killed Travon Martin".

And during Trump's we get "a white car ran over two protesters".

Pretty soon we're going to hear "a white refrigerator continued humming (next to the bodies of black people slain by other black people)".; 7/6/20, 11:04 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: This is the fault of whoever let protesters on the freeway. Send that person to jail.; 7/6/20, 11:05 AM
Michael K said...: Gregory has the best explanation. I used to go to Seattle often and that stretch of I-5 is confusing enough. What in the world did they expect ? I've seen protests on the 405 in LA doing the same thing but that road is much more open and less confusing.; 7/6/20, 11:11 AM
Bob Smith said...: Not only were those white chicks dancing, the weren’t very good at it. Aaaaand, Five years from now most of them will be on YouTube decrying the absence of “good men”.; 7/6/20, 11:12 AM
Chest Rockwell said...: If I'm on the jury, that guy is walking free.

Then, he should sue the hell out of the city of Seattle or WSP, whoever allowed these dumbfucks to protest on a highway at 1:30 in the morning.

What does that tell you anyway? No one is around at 1:30 am on the highway to see your stupid protest. Hell, they weren't even protesting, just standing around, waiting to get hit by a car apparently.; 7/6/20, 11:15 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “I'm not blaming the protesters who are being led by fools who are looking for that moment that will live forever...manipulated to let it happen.”

“The manipulators are guilty as sin, and free as a bird.”

I only disagree as to the leaders being fools. Definitely those doing the planning are avowed Marxists. But so are many of the leaders. Their avowed goal is the destruction of our country, at least as we know it. They are potentially getting just what they want. The real fools are like the dead protester, wearing dark clothing, while dancing and protesting in the middle of a freeway, in the middle of the night. Non fools block traffic with vehicles with flashing lights, and wear reflective clothing in highly visible colors, etc. This protesters did everything wrong.

I know that we aren’t allowed to ask this, but was the non-binary fool who died really a boy, or really a girl?; 7/6/20, 11:27 AM
Biff said...: It seems strange that Antifa/BLM supporters would expect anyone to follow police instructions or to respect police authority to restrict physical access to a space.

If the protestors were consistent in their thinking, the driver should have been terrified to come upon a police roadblock, and he was fully within his rights to do everything possible to avoid it.

The fact that white protestors were killed or injured should be secondary to the protestors' roles in delivering the Black driver to the shackles of law enforcement! No?; 7/6/20, 11:33 AM
OSU '92 said...: I do have a question about the police barrier because it keeps coming up in arguments. On the video I see the cars of protestors blocking the entrance to I-5 but I do not see any police cars or police barriers in place. Did this police barrier/closure take place outside of the video shot, or is that simply an assumption that what the news is reporting is correct? And if so, I assume that there are photos or videos of said police barrier that I can see for myself? Also, this question of entering the on ramp going the wrong direction which I have seen in reports. Is that true, actually verified, or once again are we assuming that news media got is correct in its reporting. Because we all know how accurate they are with these types of stories. Just google it, you have to search mightily for a photo or reference to the driver as black. Why is that?; 7/6/20, 11:39 AM
Clyde said...: First CHAZ/CHOP, now this. Apparently in Seattle it takes someone getting killed before the authorities put a stop to the foolishness.; 7/6/20, 11:41 AM
Mary Beth said...: What is the purpose of a 1:30am protest other than to stop trucks and slow down commerce?; 7/6/20, 11:43 AM
GingerBeer said...: In the times we live in luxury cars have agency, but people don't.; 7/6/20, 11:54 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: “What is the purpose of a 1:30am protest other than to stop trucks and slow down commerce?”

Boredom, immaturity, alcohol, peer pressure, you name it. I certainly did some stupid shit under those motivations in my youth.

Wait. Did someone think this had anything to do with Black lives mattering? C’mon....; 7/6/20, 11:58 AM
hombre said...: Just a confused guy who misguidedly believed freeways were for cars and who was unaware that Seattle wokeness decreed that white protesters had the right-of-way. Sad.; 7/6/20, 11:58 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: OSU, check out CCB at 10:33.

You can learn a lot from a Gungan.; 7/6/20, 12:08 PM
madAsHell said...: The last moments of the womxn's (her pronouns were they) life were captured on her cell phone, and shared on social media. The cell phone documents the warning that a car was coming (duh....on the freeway). Screeching tires, whomp, and the camera is tumbling is space.

I think there's a name for this. When the videographer fails to realize the approaching danger because.....????; 7/6/20, 12:11 PM
madAsHell said...: Apparently in Seattle it takes someone getting killed before the authorities put a stop to the foolishness.

The mayor was looking for a Kent State moment to make Trump look bad.; 7/6/20, 12:13 PM
GingerBeer said...: A mostly peaceful white Jaguar.; 7/6/20, 12:13 PM
Iman said...: Most of us learn not to play in the street - let alone a major interstate - at a young age. We never would've thought to dance.

I saw the video... both of those individuals got air in that event... at least 18 to 20 feet up in the air. I hope it was worth it.; 7/6/20, 12:16 PM
Iman said...: They should've been doing the Shy Tuna... for a few extra points...; 7/6/20, 12:18 PM
Anonymous said...: I witnessed police here in Madison allowing a group of protesters, followed by people associated with the group in their cars taking up the entirety of a two way street (some sitting on top of the cars). Talked to one cop, not allowed to do anything about it.; 7/6/20, 12:24 PM
OSU '92 said...: Char Char Binks - As much as I appreciate that you think it "almost certainly was at the entrance of the freeway" someone should have videos and photos to prove that correct? Then its end of story. In this day and age, everything is on video or at least a photo somewhere. I guess it will come out in the trial when everyone will have forgotten about the BLM movement and we are talking about Russia again.; 7/6/20, 12:33 PM
gerry said...: No protesters blocking Highways and living on the streets. It just can't be allowed.

Common sense might help prevent tragedies like this.

Progressives probably consider common sense racist.

That would explain a lot.; 7/6/20, 12:35 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Apparently in Seattle it takes someone getting killed before the authorities put a stop to the foolishness."

Apparently that is the standard everywhere. Other mayors are finally shutting some of the stupidity down, but not until a few people get killed. The things they supported clearly would lead to deaths and injuries, but they were too incompetent or cowardly to prevent it before it became deadly. None of them should ever be elected to office again. Democrat politicians in power have been getting people killed, some by the thousands, and yet somehow, Trump is to blame, and we should now elect more Democrats. Are we really that stupid?; 7/6/20, 12:45 PM
robother said...: The Summer of Love in Seattle just keeps rolling, in this case literally. Since it was a Black Femme protest, does that mean that Summer was not only "non-binary" but identified as black, excuse me, BLACK? That could further complicate the Seatle DA's decision on whether a chargeable offense occurred.

Remember those days when we aspired to "equal justice under law"? Good times, good times.; 7/6/20, 1:03 PM
gerry said...: And I think the city is liable for creating the dangerous environment, giving the protesters the false sense that they could dance on the interstate

I'm trying to imagine circumstances that would cause anyone to have a true sense that they could dance on the interstate. Does it have something to do with Progressive herd mentality?; 7/6/20, 1:03 PM
Dude1394 said...: Stupid is as stupid does. Don’t do drugs and don’t dance on a highway, idiot.; 7/6/20, 1:04 PM
eddie willers said...: they were non-binary so I don't know what to call them

Correct.; 7/6/20, 1:10 PM
Rory said...: "On the video I see the cars of protestors blocking the entrance to I-5 but I do not see any police cars or police barriers in place."

If you look at a video referenced above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBEWh873N2I

There's a big SUV in front that looks like it could be a police vehicle, along with other miscellaneous vehicles. It looks like the car going around the SUV funnels the car toward the pedestrians.; 7/6/20, 1:20 PM
Gospace said...: In many places out west, there are gates across intestate ramps that are put in place when the roads are closed. Which can be expected in bad weather and blizzard conditions.

Any other time I've seen interstates closed, anywhere, it's been with manned police or other emergency vehicles with lights flashing. In fact, that's standard for any short term closure of primary or secondary roads. A few times a year while commuting back roads I get directed on to another road because police and fire vehicles are completely blocking the road ahead. I am ever thankful for GPS at those times....

The interstate wasn't properly blocked if the police don't know how or where the Jaguar entered the highway. If there's a "life threatening" or emergency condition- you don't rely on passive barriers and orange cones.

What I posted on Facebook last night applies here:
For us conservative Americans, the idiots who got run down in Seattle- it's easy to understand. Someone was driving on the interstate- which if properly licensed they have every right to do. The road was unlawfully blockaded with parked vehicles- which is, BTW, insurrection, and rioters were illegally blocking the highway with their bodies- also insurrection. They were not protesters- protesters obey the law. For woke Americans- there's a problem. The first few liberal posts I saw blamed WHITE SUPREMICISTS! And TRUMP for inciting RACISM! And hatred against IMMIGRANTS! Whoops! Whoops, the driver was a black male. Those posts quickly disappeared. Now, liberals are at a loss as to how to blame this on any of their old tired cliches. A black African immigrant driving down an unlawfully blockaded highway hit and killed a self identified non-binary person of paleness. How to blame it on Trump or racism or any of their other cliches? I'm sure they're working on it. They don't have any coherent explanation, to them, of what happened. For us conservative Americans, it's easy. The race of the driver doesn't matter. The race of the people hit doesn't matter. The political views of neither party matters. Whether either party had any prejudices or hatred doesn't matter. The only issue is- why is the driver charged with anything and being held in jail when the Darwin Award winner went out of her way to earn it?; 7/6/20, 1:35 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: I wish Tom Wolfe was still alive to see Bonfire of the Vanities come to life in reverse.
Perhaps Netflix will some day remake the movie, the way The Wiz was the black version of The Wizard of Oz. But the Eritrean guy they get to play Sherman McCoy can't be convicted in the end. He wuz jes' drivin' aroun...he dindu nuffin. And BLM will riot because the cops were rascist.; 7/6/20, 1:43 PM
Jim at said...: Keep in mind, the 'leadership' in these parts forced the Washington State Patrol to block I-5 for the protesters.

Not block the ramps preventing them from getting onto the interstate, but blocking the interstate itself.

I hate living here. Hate.; 7/6/20, 1:45 PM
Jim at said...: People are so hung up on skin color.

No. You leftists are hung up on skin color.

If this was a white dude who ran down some black people, you'd be spewing out your ass nothing BUT skin color.; 7/6/20, 1:55 PM
Jim at said...: Chief John R. Batiste is the 21st Chief of the Washington State Patrol, and an affirmative action appointee.

That's not accurate, nor fair. I've known John since 1991. He's a solid guy with conservative cred. He's taking his orders from the dumbass in the Governor's Mansion.; 7/6/20, 1:57 PM
Mark said...: a white car* heading south at a high speed

In other words, going the speed limit, because he was ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY.; 7/6/20, 2:04 PM
Mark said...: Good luck getting a jury to convict.; 7/6/20, 2:08 PM
Mark said...: Don't think that the BLM crowd is agreeable to all these white girls co-opting their issue. In fact, they have more contempt for these white progressives more than they do for the out-and-out white supremacists.; 7/6/20, 2:10 PM
Achilles said...: Not that I think it would be a good idea. Let the citizens of Seattle see what their votes have brought.

I5 runs through Seattle.

A large portion of the traffic on I5 is just passing through.; 7/6/20, 2:14 PM
Dave64 said...: Hope this ruins the city of Seattle financially, someone higher up than the police allowed this idiotic protest to happen. Now you have one dead and another in critical condition. Didn't anyone ever tell the Governor and the Mayor that it's not safe to play in traffic?; 7/6/20, 2:16 PM
Drago said...: It is unfortunate the victim did not identify as a tank. That might have saved him/her/xer.; 7/6/20, 2:24 PM
Narr said...: I see two openings for insane children in Seattle.

According to the news article linked, "They" was "its" preferred pronoun.

Narr
I guess then, that tapeworms AND crabs count?; 7/6/20, 2:38 PM
cubanbob said...: If it was a real police closure there would have been flairs and cop cars with their lights flashing. So right off the bat there was no official closure so how was the guy supposed to know it wasn't some scam? It's not like there hasn't been an outbreak of crime and anarchy in Seattle aided and abetted by the City and the governor.; 7/6/20, 2:46 PM
alan markus said...: John Marzan said...
rare video from a different angle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBEWh873N2I

Video From Different Angle

Interesting - it sure looks like after he hit the people he attempted to stop. It looks like he was pumping on the brakes and came close to a full stop, at which time the crowd was catching up to him.

Since this happened on a federal highway, I wonder if there are any federal agencies or Congressional committees that have the authority to do a complete investigation of how this could have happened. Including the actions by public officials, signage, design of the ramps, etc.; 7/6/20, 3:06 PM
Aggie said...: "State Patrol announced Saturday evening that it would no longer allow protesters on the interstate.

Ya think? I wonder if this is a sign that the protest organization is crumbling. Up till recently their levels of organization are impressive; political operatives hired on full time to organize transportation buses, printing of placards, medical/first aid and hydration stations, riot equipment, lawyers on call with cash bail, etc etc etc. All of this behind the scenes and, but of course, completely unseen and uncovered by the incurious press - who apparently believe that nobody would be interested how a bunch of skinny anarchists manage to get so well organized, since they're, well, anarchists.

But now... I wonder if the money is drying up. What organizer would think it wise to dance on the freeway, at night, dressed in all black? Where was the backup organization? I wonder if, off stage, somebody is dismantling the machine piece by piece. Hmmm....; 7/6/20, 3:35 PM
bagoh20 said...: The freeway is for cars not pedestrians, ever. So, if a car and a pedestrian meet on the freeway IN THE DARK, who should be most liable for any injury that may occur?

A: Who ever decided to either be walking there themselves, or whoever told them it was safe to go there. If there was a crime committed, it seems to me the driver, while not innocent, was not the most culpable.; 7/6/20, 3:37 PM
Michael said...: Little girl shot and killed at the site of the Wendy’s matter. Her Mom drove to the wrong place at the wrong time. Our own little encampment in Atlanta has been allowEd to block off the area and City officials are “negotiating” with the squatters. Negotiating. The squatters want the city to build a community center named after the drunk who arrested and assaulted officers. They are puzzled by the fact that the city doesn’t own the land.

I am not sure why the city does not send in force to clear the motherfuckers out. The Mayor’s cute speech during the riots which she allowed to happen got her on the VP list. This will get her off. Woke posturing asinine bitch.; 7/6/20, 3:38 PM
effinayright said...: Bob Smith said...
Not only were those white chicks dancing, the weren’t very good at it. Aaaaand, Five years from now most of them will be on YouTube decrying the absence of “good men”.
***********

Having given up on finding a good man, most of them will be holding up plaintive signs at traffic intersections saying, "Will Scissors for Food".; 7/6/20, 5:29 PM
Nichevo said...: 2:38 PM
cubanbob said...
If it was a real police closure there would have been flairs and cop cars with their lights flashing. So right off the bat there was no official closure so how was the guy supposed to know it wasn't some scam? It's not like there hasn't been an outbreak of crime and anarchy in Seattle aided and abetted by the City and the governor.

Anybody who has seen No Country for Old Men would be skeptical of randos evincing authority.

Meanwhile, the older white female attorney in Minnesota who got stuck driving into an illegal march, abandoned her car, tried to flee, then spat in the face of a screaming 17-year old who was mobbing her with scores of others (international media accused her of using her car to block the protest then attacking the youth for no reason), was followed home by protestors who were directing other protestors to her house, and after merely slightly put hands on one 21-year old asshole ranting about re-educating her on her own front yard is arrested and charged with hate crimes.

Hmm, sound like anyone we know? Anyone we know who hosts this blog maybe?; 7/6/20, 6:36 PM
Drago said...: Michael: "Little girl shot and killed at the site of the Wendy’s matter."

You know perfectly well that little girl's name was not Heather Heyer and therefore, according to Inga Rules, she does not matter and whatever you do, do not mention her again.

Inga really hates that.

See: David Dorn.; 7/6/20, 6:40 PM
DavidUW said...: The simplest test to know that the freeway on/off ramp was not blocked off properly. There are no pictures of that.

If WSP was so proud of their work closing off that part of the 5, they’d have pictured the properly and clearly marked ramps closing the freeway. They don’t

It wasn’t really blocked off. He got on the freeway. The cars are dark, it’s dark, he swerved to avoid the cars, hit the people. Slowed to a stop and then heard the mob screaming for him. He sped away and stopped where it was safer.; 7/6/20, 6:43 PM
DavidUW said...: PS, he’s also driving in the correct direction on the interstate. You can tell by the diamond lane in the far left. Also the mob is on the other side of the cars; you don’t protest on the other side of a road block.

What’s more realistic, he drove the wrong way on an off ramp that is marked with “wrong way” signs or he got on a not really blocked off on ramp?

Given the competence of WSP, the latter.; 7/6/20, 6:49 PM
Rick said...: Inga said...
People are so hung up on skin color.

Right. That's why Black Lives Matter supporters think All Lives Matter is essentially interchangeable. It's revealing Inga's principles are only professed when doing so furthers an attack on conservatives even though Team Blue violates those principles far more egregiously. Someone who didn't know her well might conclude she doesn't have any principles other than Team Blue Uber Allen.; 7/6/20, 6:50 PM
Rick said...: He didn’t hit his brakes, he didn’t stop,' Aaron said."

This is myth making, he did stop. But then he took off when the mob started running toward him.

There have been many acts of violence in/on cars since this started. Mobs seem to feel entitled to attack people in cars, then whine when the cars drive through the crowd to escape. What do they think is going to happen? It's so stupid it seems clear left wingers are doing this hoping people will be killed in retaliation to further their cause.

This particular instance is a little different since mobs usually instigate the attacks whereas this driver was out of control. But I won't be surprised if we find out he was scared to stop because of the prior acts of violence.; 7/6/20, 7:00 PM
Rick said...: Rory said...
There's a big SUV in front that looks like it could be a police vehicle,

There is no SUV. There's a king-cab pickup, a white van (which could be media), and two sedans.

But as others stated there are no barriers or lights police would put up to "close" a road". Maybe that was done on the ramps and thus is not visible here.; 7/6/20, 7:22 PM
ALP said...: Rachel Corrie. That is what this is a deja vu of. You will recall she was another young white woman looking to fix things - in the middle east. Run over by a bulldozer.; 7/6/20, 7:27 PM
DavidUW said...: The closest on ramp is University and 6th Ave to go north on I-5. The Hilton is on the corner.

You're telling me not a single person around that hotel could be asked if the on-ramp was blocked? or saw his car? if you're going north on the 5 the next on ramp is pretty far south from there. Did the cops block that? doubt it. Doubt they blocked either one.

The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced he was heading on the 5 (having gotten around a traffic cone that may or may not have been there), there are dark cars perpendicular on the road as he comes around that curve, he swerves, and accidentally hits the people. Stops, hears and sees the mob, starts up again and then stops where the mob isn't.; 7/6/20, 7:44 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: OSU, if the entrance had been blocked, it would not have shown up in the video of the crash. There may be photos of it, but it's unlikely that we would have seen them.

If the police blocked the road, I doubt they'd simply block it where cars would be unable to exit, letting them jam the highway. If that was the case, there probably would have been a backlog of cars there.

Actually, cubanbob's explanation is probably better than mine, since blocking all the entrances would be too much work. They probably blocked the road in a place or places where traffic could exit, at least if they had any sense -- no guarantee.

Also, I think DavidUW is correct. The Jag seemed to be in the correct lane, traveling in the correct direction. I simply accepted the news report that he was going the wrong way, when it is apparent that that is a lie. The driver may have passed a roadblock, but he was heading in the right direction, and he got where he needed to be to do some good.; 7/6/20, 7:47 PM
DavidUW said...: Did the police close off the interchange with I-90?

This is all bull.

The cops did a half-ass job at blocking off one on-ramp and these morons did their nightly dance on a free with the obvious consequences.

Free Dawit.; 7/6/20, 7:48 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “ Ya think? I wonder if this is a sign that the protest organization is crumbling. Up till recently their levels of organization are impressive; political operatives hired on full time to organize transportation buses, printing of placards, medical/first aid and hydration stations, riot equipment, lawyers on call with cash bail, etc etc etc. All of this behind the scenes and, but of course, completely unseen and uncovered by the incurious press - who apparently believe that nobody would be interested how a bunch of skinny anarchists manage to get so well organized, since they're, well, anarchists”

Keep in mind that the “protests” were often indistinguishable from riots, and organizing a riot, where Interstate Commerce is implicated (such as using a phone or the Internet), is a federal felony. I think that, by now, it is likely that the organizers of the riots are being tracked by the FBI, etc. They likely know it, so have gone underground a bit. We shall see.; 7/6/20, 7:51 PM
wildswan said...: In the "video from another angle" it looks as the people hit were moving toward the right side of the highway and moved into the path of the car which was coming round the car block from far over on the right side of the highway. The driver may have thought the block was some sort of spin-out accident which had just happened. So he tried to drive around it rather than add to the pile-up. He probably couldn't see that there were people on the highway behind the line of cars. If that line of cars was police cars, then I bet the protesters ordered them not to turn on their flashers. Wherever the police were, the protesters probably told the police not to put up barricades and flashers. They didn't want police protection and they didn't get it.; 7/6/20, 9:09 PM
Big Mike said...: I think that, by now, it is likely that the organizers of the riots are being tracked by the FBI, etc.

@Bruce Hayden, you can tell I spent too much of my life in and around Washington, DC. My first thought is that Chris Wray will tell his agents to make a modest show of an investigation, but not to pursue any indictments. Hope I am being overly cynical, but since 2008 I have not been cynical enough time and time again.; 7/6/20, 11:50 PM
Nichevo said...: My first thought is that Chris Wray will tell his agents to make a modest show of an investigation, but not to pursue any indictments.

Where are the whistleblowers among the fearless and incorruptible street-level agents? To be fair, to whom would they blow?

Anybody remember the last lines of Three Days of the Condor?

TURNER
I hope so.
HIGGINS
You want to rip us to pieces, but you
damn fool you rely on us.
(then)
You're about to be a very lonely man,
Turner.
Without warning, Turner SLOWLY starts away, still facing
Higgins. He throws a glance over his shoulder at the car.
HIS P.O.V. - THE PLAIN CAR
The two men waiting for a signal from Higgins.
TURNER AND HIGGINS
HIGGINS
It didn't have to turn out like this.
TURNER
Of course it did.
HIGGINS
(calling out)
Turner! How do you know they'll print
it?
Turner stops. Stares at Higgins. Higgins smiles.
CLOSE - HIGGINS
HIGGINS
You can take a walk. But how far? If
they don't print it.
CLOSE - TURNER
TURNER
They'll print it.
HIGH ANGLE - TURNER AND HIGGINS
Pedestrians move between them.
HIGGINS
How do you know?
CAMERA PULLS BACK AND LOSES THEM IN THE NEW YORK STREETS.; 7/7/20, 7:06 AM
mikee said...: A Thought Experiment I've Never Completed:
Compare campus antiwar protests of the Vietnam era for criminal acts of violence, number of participants and destruction of property before and after Kent State. Use only numerical data, not descriptive news reports, in your analysis.

Adjust for current events: Compare highway blockage protests before and after this event.
Compare urban criminal violence before and after recent protests. Compare gun sales before/after (a perennial fave). And so on.; 7/7/20, 9:45 AM
mikee said...: A Thought Experiment I've Never Completed:
Compare campus antiwar protests of the Vietnam era for criminal acts of violence, number of participants and destruction of property before and after Kent State. Use only numerical data, not descriptive news reports, in your analysis.

Adjust for current events: Compare highway blockage protests before and after this event.
Compare urban criminal violence before and after recent protests. Compare gun sales before/after (a perennial fave). And so on.; 7/7/20, 9:46 AM
Andrew said...: It's Federal law, pedestrian traffic on the interstate except in emergencys is illegal. The State HP are fuckwads.; 7/7/20, 10:07 AM
Sam L. said...: Black people walkning around on an interstate or other highway at night seems like there's NO chance of that being safe to do.; 7/7/20, 10:14 AM
Kirk Parker said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/7/20, 3:11 PM
Kirk Parker said...: RBE,

"I'm not blaming the protesters who are being led by fools..."

Oh, surely allowing oneself to be led by fools is at least somewhat blameworthy, no?

Laslo,

Your 7:20 AM comment reminds me, somehow, of Feynman's dismantling of the abysmally poor logic that lead to the launch of the Challenger.; 7/7/20, 3:31 PM
Kirk Parker said...: dbp @ 9:08am,

Actually, anyone who has wandered around Seattle knows that the yours is a very strange statement, as I-5 runs literally right through the middle of downtown.

Notice the 500yd scale circled in red at the lower right in the linked map -- the Seattle Municipal Court is literally a block from the freeway, the Columbia Center, the Seattle Public Library, and the Fifth Avenue Theater a block-and-a-half. (The 5th Ave is the red-and-green star in the upper center-left, for some reason the name didn't come up on the map.) Alaskan Way on the waterfront is a whole 7 blocks away.

You can all join me in saying: huh???; 7/7/20, 3:32 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “@Bruce Hayden, you can tell I spent too much of my life in and around Washington, DC. My first thought is that Chris Wray will tell his agents to make a modest show of an investigation, but not to pursue any indictments. Hope I am being overly cynical, but since 2008 I have not been cynical enough time and time again.”

You may indeed be correct. He is under direct orders from AG Barr, implementing the wishes of President Trump. But, then, he is a deep state bureaucrat first and foremost.; 7/7/20, 6:14 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Oops, I was composing this offline, saw my error, then forgot to correct it. The scale legend on that map is 500 FEET, not yards.; 7/7/20, 7:18 PM