Seattle's May Day 'March for Worker, Immigrant Rights' peaceful

SEATTLE -- Immigration was on the minds of most May Day protestors who gathered at a sunny Judkins Park.

“We’re here today, to advocate immigration reform,” said John Martinez.

But among the peaceful protestors, there were also are several anarchists, they’re faces covered, and some worried things could get ugly.

“That’s always a problem if there’s some disturbance or some incident,” said Martinez.



Protestors said during the march they had several monitors watching for anyone committing violence, and were ready to report it to police.

And there were a lot of police, on foot, on bike, on horse, and seemingly on every corner.

“We certainly up-staffed from last year,” said Seattle Police Captain Chris Fowler. “We have quite a few out here.”

Officers said they’re much more prepared this year than in 2012 when anarchists did a lot of damage in the downtown corridor.

This year, word got out that anarchists may be targeting banks downtown.

That was enough for two US Bank branches on 5th Avenue to close early.

But despite some small skirmishes, the 3-mile march to the Henry Jackson federal building was free of violence, and protestors could focus on what they came to May Day for: to talk, not about violence, but about immigration.