The Seattle Times / by Janet Horne Henderson, Seattle Times assistant metro editor
Felony charges were filed yesterday against three protesters accused of assaulting police officers during last Thursday's demonstrations marking the one-year anniversary of the World Trade Organization conference.
A fourth demonstrator is still under investigation for the felony charge of sending a threatening e-mail to city officials, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office.
In documents filed with yesterday's charges, prosecutors allege that:
Twenty-year-old Jeremiah Jones of Edmonds ran into crowds on Fourth Avenue, reached into his back pack and started throwing things at police, striking Capt. Ron Mochizuki in the eye. Jones was arrested at the scene.
18-year-old Sadiq Misallati of Queen Anne used a lighter to light a firecracker that was thrown at a line of police officers on Bell Street, disorienting them. Misallati ran into a stranger's apartment, where police arrested him.
35-year-old William Blansett, also known as William Blan, kicked and slugged police and tried to poke an officer in the eye after police stopped him from entering an unoccupied patrol car parked at 12th Avenue and Pike Street. He was arrested at the scene.
About 140 protesters were taken into custody during Thursday's demonstration, which started out peacefully but turned tense in the afternoon and by evening was out of control, though not nearly as much as the riots of a year ago. All but a handful of those arrested were suspected of misdemeanors and have been released on their own recognizance.
Arraignment for the felony defendants was set for tomorrow.
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