OCCUPIED

Seattle Protesters Take Over City Hall With Help From Council Member

The crowd of protesters called for the ouster of Mayor Jenny Durkan, who’s been accused of authorizing excessive force by police.

Led by Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant, a crowd of Black Lives Matters protesters flooded into City Hall late Tuesday. Videos from the scene showed dozens, if not hundreds, of demonstrators occupying the building after reportedly being let in by Sawant, who has sided with protesters amid unrest in the city and criticized the police response. Many of the demonstrators held signs reading “Durkan must go” and chanted calls for Mayor Jenny Durkan’s ouster. A lawsuit filed against city authorities in federal court earlier Tuesday singles Durkan out for authorizing aggressive police actions during recent protests, including the use of tear gas and other chemical irritants.