Charges Against 46 Pro-Palestinian Protestors at Sea-Tac Airport Dismissed

by Lauryn Bray

Prosecutors dropped charges against 46 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested for blocking the Airport Expressway entrance to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on April 15 after activists and organizers rallied outside the SeaTac Municipal Court Tuesday, Aug. 13.

According to the SeaTac 46's spokesperson Hope Freije, the dismissals will be finalized after the successful completion of a stipulated order of continuance (SOC), which will guarantee immediate dismissal of the charges after the completion of 10 hours of community service or the passing of three months with no new criminal violations. The City has also agreed not to refile charges against the defendants whose cases were conditionally dismissed due to the court's failure to provide public defenders to those who qualified.

"The horrors and the tragedy and the harm that is occurring to the Palestinian people in Gaza is so much greater than inconveniencing a few drivers on the road," said Michael Withey, a human rights lawyer who represented the 174 people arrested in Westlake mall during the 1999 WTO protests. "I'm here to support the defendants in their demand that these charges be dismissed. In the country that is supplying the weapons of war to Israel, funding this war, we have a duty as citizens of the world to speak up and protest."

The press conference was held prior to a court hearing for the group, who have each been charged with disorderly conduct and/or failure to disperse, both misdemeanor offenses. All 46 arrestees made bail and were released within 24 hours. According to a press release that was sent to the Emerald by spokesperson Freije, many protesters have not received public counsel within the three months following their arrests.

"These protesters are being prosecuted for courageously responding to the moral urgency of the genocide in Gaza," said Freije. "We stand with the community in demanding that these charges be dropped immediately. We reject the state repression of activists fighting for the freedom, safety, and dignity of Palestinians. Acquit the SeaTac 46."

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, since the start of Israel's war with Hamas, the United States has passed legislation that has allowed for the provision of at least $12.5 billion in military aid to Israel.

"The Biden-Harris administration is sending an additional [$3.8 billion] to the State of Israel to be spent on U.S. weapons and military equipment. A Boeing [GBU-39] bomb was used in the recent Al-Tabin school massacre which killed over a hundred people gathered for morning prayers," said Toby Kranzdorf, member of both Samidoun and International League of People's Struggle. "We know that Palestinian resistance is a response to the ongoing siege, bombardment, extrajudicial killings, land confiscation, massive imprisonment, home demolitions, settlement construction, and a denial of millions of Palestinian refugees' rights to return home. Taking solidarity and action with Palestinians is not only just, it is our responsibility."

Earlier this May, KUOW reported that Boeing was the top U.S. manufacturer of missiles and munitions delivered to Israel from 2021 to 2023. Boeing delivers weapons to Israel through commercial deals with the permission of the U.S. government, like the $735 million arms sale to Israel in 2021 approved by the Biden administration.

Writer and organizer Shaun Scott also spoke at the press conference and demanded charges for the SeaTac 46 be dropped. Scott is a leading candidate in the race to represent House District 43, which includes much of downtown Seattle and Capitol Hill.

"We need to understand that this tradition we're taking part in as protesters and as people who are standing up for the civil liberties of people who express dissent is a really unifying tradition that we need to uphold and continue by not allowing protest to be criminalized and dissent to be cracked down on," said Scott. "This is a baton we're going to carry for as long as we see our tax dollars going toward causes we don't agree with. As long as we see our tax dollars funding human misery and suffering on the scale that we're seeing in Palestine, we're going to be out here. And we're going to be out here until it stops."

Editors' Note: This story was updated on 08/14/2024 to include that the charges against the SeaTac 46 were dismissed.

📸 Featured Image: Hundreds of supporters of Palestine walked from SeaTac to Golden Gardens in North Seattle, a distance of 25 miles, the length of Gaza, to call "for an immediate ceasefire and lasting freedom and safety for all people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea" on May 26, 2024. (Photo: Alex Garland)