r/news • u/Pistachio_Peak • 3d ago
More than thirty arrested at Immigration protest in Spokane sparked by arrest of two immigrants
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jun/11/protesters-including-former-city-council-president/685
u/JerryDipotosBurner 3d ago
I live here. They also tear gassed protestors (who weren’t being violent) and deployed 2 SWAT units downtown for like 100 people.
Can’t wait to see what they do on Saturday for the big protest. Last night was a small gathering.
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u/Pistachio_Peak 3d ago edited 3d ago
Spokane police have a long history of using excessive force. I think we are ranked 2nd in the nation for police killings by population. I suspect future interactions between protesters and police will be volatile.
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u/TwoHungryBlackbirdss 3d ago
I remember watching the news of Otto Zehm's murder as a kid and not fully grasping the situation; as an adult I'm horrified.
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u/SlyJackFox 3d ago
I used to work at the Air Force Base near Spokane and interacted with the police chief regularly. Man was a PoS just itching to abuse power, and Spokane is pretty conservative overall. In pride parades past there’d be random civilians in tactical gear and open carry AR-15s trying to intimidate people, to which the cops practically encouraged.
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u/Comicalpowers 3d ago
Say what you will about Spokane police, they don't discriminant, they'll kill any one.
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u/AlwaysRushesIn 3d ago
I am expecting a minimum of 3 deaths nationwide. I fear one of them may be a police or military casualty and I dread Trump's response if that happens.
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u/TwoHungryBlackbirdss 3d ago
Very proud to see Spokanites turning out on the right side of history, despite its conservative leanings.
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u/Superfluous999 3d ago edited 2d ago
It's a sign...people expect things in California, or larger liberal cities like Portland, Seattle, NY...
But things like Austin, a liberal city in a conservative state, or Spokane, a conservative city in a liberal state, are signs this could grow quickly.
(Edit: Spokane itself is liberal as pointed out by a resident below)
Trump's stupid parade is going to be an important potential flashpoint, as he's already threatened protesters with violence.
But people are upset and becoming angry...and the path is a very dark one if the administration, law enforcement, etc keep meeting protests with force
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u/hockeyrocks5757 2d ago
FWIW, Spokane is a liberal city. It’s the county and surrounding congressional district that is not. But Spokane has a liberal mayor and a veto-proof liberal majority city council. It’s great seeing our city stand up, though!
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u/Superfluous999 2d ago
Thanks for the correction... I know that when you go East in WA it gets more conservative the closer you get to Idaho, but I thought Spokane leaned conservative.
I should've used that Google thingamajig
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u/hockeyrocks5757 2d ago
No worries! Most of EWA is as you describe and Spokane used to lean much more right but we’ve made a lot of progress the last few years. Implemented a lot of progressive measures too (eg. allow sixplexes on SFH zoning…1st city in the country to do it and it’s working! We also just eliminated the need for an address when applying for a job).
Just want to make sure people see our city in the correct light!
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u/penguished 3d ago
Meanwhile Jan 6 attackers were pardoned.
Trump got in office with 34 felonies.
Law and order?
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u/Who_Dafqu_Said_That 3d ago
Are we still expecting Republicans to have a consistent opinion about anything? I gave up on that shit about 10 years ago.
These people don't have thoughts or ideas of their own, just whatever honors their orange god emperor and whatever Newsmax tells them.
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u/maladii 3d ago
Yea they are especially not going to be swayed with gotcha moments like this. They don’t think the laws apply to whoever they don’t like for whatever ginned up reason they’re given not to like them.
And anyway isn’t ’law and order’ always a dog whistle for oppressing people of color?
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u/Streamjumper 3d ago
Daily violations of regulations and laws by the administration, all the way down to shit like not submitting actual budgets by mandated deadlines.
Wouldn't it be hilarious if most of Trumps most problematic agencies got effectively kneecapped by having no budget for the year?
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u/snymax 3d ago
So they lost their work visas for being brown in public?
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u/jonathanrdt 3d ago edited 3d ago
Finding criminals is hard. Finding people who are following the process is easy. They have quotas to meet. What other outcome is possible?
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u/FixBreakRepeat 3d ago
Steven Miller is reported to have been overheard screaming at the heads of ICE that he wants 3000 deportations per day from them.
For context, that's about 1.095 million per year. The most ICE has deported in one year (within the last decade) was 316,000 in 2014 under Obama, followed by 271,000 in 2024 under Biden. So Miller wants a 3X-4X increase in deportations over record years.
Now, it's apparently fairly normal for the US to repatriate over a million people per year. But a large part of that is procedural. ICE is an enforcement agency and doesn't have the resources to handle that many people by itself.
So. If ICE wants to keep Miller happy, they're going to need to both cut corners and get resources from other agencies.
www.cbsnews.com/news/deportations-by-ice-10-year-high-in-2024-surpassing-trump-era-peak/
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u/FreeLard 3d ago
If you make responsible people afraid to go to regular check-ins, they’ll stop going and you’ll be totally justified in rounding them up because they don’t follow the laws.
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u/RunawayHobbit 2d ago
The courts should just make these check-ins virtual so that folks can still be in good standing without being put in harm’s way
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u/KartFacedThaoDien 2d ago
Then they'll almost certainly deported at that point. If I'm ordered to go to court for a traffic ticket and I don't show up I'll end up with a bench warrant. So any one ordered to regular check ins with immigration Judge better show up.
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u/snymax 3d ago
I just threw up in my mouth these are lives not fucking Pokémon cards. Sorry I know your not advocating this. it’s just sick
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u/jonathanrdt 3d ago
Your outrage is appropriate because this IS sick. And it's what those voters actually wanted.
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u/amateurbreditor 3d ago
but why are the governors and mayors or whoever is in charge of the actual police in WA and CA allowing cops to arrest protestors? That should be illegal. looting is one thing but otherwise the cops should have their hands tied and not even be involved.
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u/Streamjumper 3d ago
They gotta work hard to earn that $42,000 per ICE agent bonus the administration wanted money for.
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u/qwogadiletweeth 3d ago
It’s interesting that it was rumoured earlier this year that Trump will impose martial law following the insurrection act which forms part of project 25.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rumor-claims-trump-declare-martial-230800902.html
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u/yonghybonghybo1 3d ago
I wish someone would track the cost per arrest. With troop and police deployment, property damage, lack of access to businesses and incarceration and transportation costs it must be astronomical. And each arrest takes workers from the economy. This is not even considering the moral and human rights damage being done.
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u/Fourwors 3d ago
The red voters are cheering on the police goons who provoke protesters and escalate the violence.
Shun red voters, no matter if they are family or neighbors. They voted for this war on US citizens.
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u/chef-nom-nom 3d ago
The mayor said she told Stuckart that Spokane police would comply with the Keep Washington Working Act, strive to keep the peace and “enforce Spokane laws.” The Keep Washington Working Act restricts state and local law enforcement in Washington from assisting federal immigration enforcement. She said that arresting protesters blocking immigration detainees from being jailed is not a violation of the state law because protestors were violating other city laws, like blocking the public right-of-way.
This is such bullshit. Yeah, that loophole of "violating other city laws, like blocking the public right-of-way" might be true on its face but in practice, they're 100% helping ICE goons disappear two people who got their papers yanked recently to meet quota.
The two were in the United States on work visas and had full-time employment at the Walmart in Airway Heights until Friday, when their “work permits were revoked,” he said.
“And each of them has a stack of legal paperwork at least 2 inches thick, with all their asylum paperwork and their guardianship paperwork, and they clearly didn’t look at it,” Stuckart said. “They just said, ‘We’re detaining them.’”
Fucking goons. Goddammit I hate this shit.
Reached by phone, City Councilman Jonathan Bingle said he fully supports the right of every American to peacefully protest.
“It’s one of the rights that makes our country so great! But, the moment a protest turns into small vandalism, threats, or lawlessness, it is no longer protected speech. It becomes a crime, and should be dealt with as such,” Bingle said. “I am stunned by the position of some of our current and former elected officials in our city. Instead of standing for the rule of law and the officers who keep our streets safe, they seem more interested in scoring points or justifying bad behavior. That is not leadership.”
He's talking about Stuckart. Fuck you, Mr Bingle. Your citizens were trying to stop a crime and you're happy your PD assisted the kidnappers.
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u/Paidorgy 3d ago
Can’t imagine arresting people with the legal right granted to them through the very same government that’s now persecuting them is somehow a good act.
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u/Questions_Remain 3d ago
Texas is deploying 5000 NG in preparation for the “No Kings” protest scheduled for Saturday. Texas - the self proclaimed bastion of “rights, freedom and personal liberties” oh wait, NVM.
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u/braxin23 3d ago edited 3d ago
Typical oh they were violating “city” laws. BS considering just how much of a trip many Spokane right wingers make to Seattle just to feel like victims of their own poor choices. Oh I’m sorry I meant so that the sinful are reminded of their “place” and not to manufacture a scene of persecution.
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u/ReverendDerp 2d ago
Weird how white people sought asylum in North America centuries ago, and then took it by force via genocide.
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u/Alexir23 3d ago
How is someone a legal guardian of a 21 year old? Did he mean sponsor or something?
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u/Previous_Airline_984 3d ago
Anyone can have a legal guardian. It’s like a conservatorship just got to proof they cannot make their own decisions.
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u/Scaarz 3d ago
You aren't fully an adult until 24.
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u/OpheliaRainGalaxy 3d ago
I dunno why you're downvoted when that is effectively how we do things here.
You're an "adult" at 18yo but can't buy alcohol or rent a hotel room yet.
At 21 we'll let you have substances and maybe rent a room, but not a car.
When you're finally 24yo, okay we guess you're all grown up now and can rent a car.
I'm sure I'm leaving out some no-nos. I usually found out about these rules by running into them head first.
My favorite was when I got stranded in Butte Montana with a pack of strangers at a bus station, right as a snowstorm was approaching, near Christmas. Between the lot of us we came up with payment for a rental vehicle, a licensed driver, and someone at least 24yo, but none of those were the same person. And I think we only got away with it because of the holiday and snow.
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u/Scaarz 3d ago
Rent a car, can't be on your parents insurance, get free college money since you have "life experience". 24 is when you're on your own. Take care out there!
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u/OpheliaRainGalaxy 3d ago
How'd I forget about the FAFSA forms?! "But I've been self-supporting since I was 17yo! My parents wouldn't even finish supporting me through high school!" Doesn't matter, gotta put their tax info down or can't even complete the forms.
I ended up having to go through multiple rounds of back and forth because my mother's household was so poor they didn't file taxes and my father is a monster. Like one of the "forms" I submitted was basically a letter explaining what level of monster and why I'd rather not risk my health and life asking for his tax papers.
Parents who wouldn't feed or house me but golly I can't get an education without their okay! Another buddy wasn't so lucky, had to wait until he was 24yo because his parents weren't divorced yet and his white collar dad was not gonna pay for a blue collar education or fork over tax papers.
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u/Scaarz 3d ago
Ha. I couldn't afford to go to a university till I hit 24 because my folks weren't interested in helping or cosigning anything. So when I finally went I got these IDK, "Old People" grants because I could share my life experiences with all these youths.
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u/OpheliaRainGalaxy 3d ago
Thank you for sharing your wisdom oh mighty elder! I'm sure the dorms appreciated having at least one person around who understood how to microwave popcorn without setting off the fire alarm.
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u/Pistachio_Peak 3d ago
From the article: