Seattle May Day 2018: Expect Traffic Disruptions

SEATTLE, WA - Seattle's annual May Day observation happens Tuesday afternoon with parades and protests planned - and officials are warning workers, visitors, and others with business in the downtown area to prepare for serious traffic disruptions.

May Day will kick off Tuesday afternoon with the 19th Annual May Day March for Immigrant and Workers Rights. That event begins at 2:30 p.m. at Judkins Park in the Central District. Attendees will march from the park to 2nd Avenue and Spring Street in downtown Seattle. Seattle police will shut down streets as the march moves through downtown.

King County Metro is predicting "major transit delays," and has already rerouted some buses.

A right-wing group, Washington State Patriot Response, will rally at Westlake Park beginning around 3 p.m. That group, which includes members of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys, is coming to Seattle to counter-protest left-wing activists.

"The left has been able to run amok in this country completely unchecked since the 1960s in regards to social issues, education, anti military, the welfare state and so much more. It needs to stop. It is time for Conservatives get off the couch and start taking action," Washington State Patriot Response wrote on its Facebook page.

But Washington State Patriot Response might be making a tactical error. The Seattle Industrial Workers of the World has called for "decentralized" action on Tuesday.

"We believe that this year’s May Day events should be throughout the city at different times and different locations and hosted by various groups in order to prevent direct repression by the Seattle police and to make disruptions of our events by outside agitators more difficult," the group wrote of this year's May Day.

May Day sometimes involves vandalism and confrontations between police and activists. May Day 2017 in Seattle was largely peaceful, however, with only five arrests and no property damage. The right wing Patriot Prayer group made its first appearance in Seattle that year. The group's leader, Joey Gibson of Vancouver, is running for U.S. Senate against Maria Cantwell.

Famously, the conservative and left-wing protesters at last year's gathering at Westlake came together to smoke a "peace joint."

Here are some May Day 2018 events happening Tuesday in Seattle:

19th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights
2:30 PM · Judkins Park, Seattle
El Comité and the May 1st Action Coalition are calling on all workers and all social justice advocates to come out on Tuesday, May 1st 2018 (International Workers’ Day) for the 19th Annual May Day March for Immigrant and Workers Rights. We are using the march to publicly expose ICE activity in Washington State and to hold the Department of Licensing accountable for having facilitated ICE harassment against community members by way of sharing information about motorists.

MayDay Seattle - Stand Against Rioters
3 PM · Westlake Park, Seattle
For years, AntiFa has been destroying businesses and assaulting people on MayDay all over the West Coast. Nobody has ever stood in opposition to them. Seattle is a Mecca for these criminals and it is time that Patriots come together for the good of the community. Come stand against these criminals and join us May 1st in Seattle!

Stop the Killings: Seattle Caravan Send Off & May Day March
11 AM · Edwin T Pratt Park, Seattle
The Stop the Killings Speaking Tour hosted by International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines US Chapter and the Malaya Movement, will make its stop in Seattle on May 1st, International Workers and Immigrant Rights Day. Organizers of the Caravan will host a rally and send off the bus caravan featuring delegates from the Philippines spreading awareness of the 20,000 extrajudicial killings and the growing repression under President Duterte.

ILWU No. 23 YWC: May Day, Seattle 2018
1 PM · Judkins Skatepark, Seattle
May Day’s coming up! Tacoma Longshore’s Young Workers Committee (ILWU No. 23) are joining thousands of fellow workers for Seattle’s 19th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights, organized and led by El Comité and the May 1st Action Coalition.

Socialist Happy Hour After May Day
7 PM · Bambinos Seattle · Seattle, Washington
Join the ISO for a happy hour after the 19th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights! We'll be heading over right after the march ends, so the time above is a placeholder. Bambinos is all ages. If you're having trouble finding us, we'll have some Socialist Worker newspapers sitting on our tables!

MayDay Womxn of Color & Families + Anti-Impe Marching Contingent
3 PM · Great Hall At Union Station, Seattle
Join the Womxn of Color and Families & Anti-Imperialist marching contingents on Tuesday, May 1st, International Workers and Immigrants Rights March, as we stand up against systemic racism, colonization, imperialism, capitalism, and patriarchy. We are marching for the dignity and respect of communities worldwide and Mother Earth.

File photos by Neal McNamara/Patch