Port Militarization Resistance - Port of Olympia - May 2006

May 2006

From 22 May 2006 until 31 May 2006, equipment belonging to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Lewis, was convoyed onto the Port of Olympia quay, to be loaded onto the USNS Pomeroy to be delivered to Iraq. This equipment included Stryker vehicles, as well as various munitions and unlabeled equipment. Despite prior shipments being met with passive protest, press accounts at the time indicate no resistance to the convoys were expected.

While some demonstrations and arrests occurred in the first two days, the first major actions occurred on 24 May. Several people lined across the road in a human chain, obstructing the path of a Stryker convoy. Several participants reported they were mishandled by police. A detour was forced when Olympia police proved unable to move one of the blockade participants, Ultimate Fighting champion Jeff Monson, out of the street. The second attempt to enter the port quay was successful after Olympia police parted a line of protesters linked with PVC pipes.

The protests, blockade attempts, and arrests continued sporadically for the next several days. Tent cities were established near the port grounds. Protesters reportedly kept constant watch on the port grounds, even after the Strykers finished convoying in. During this time, participants report being followed by police, even away from the scene of the protest.

The protests intensified on 29 May as participants expected the USNS Pomeroy to arrive that evening. After night fell, protesters lined along the Port of Olympia fence and began shaking it. Police then deployed pepper spray into the crowd on two occasions. Demonstrators then marched through downtown Olympia before breaking up for the night.

At 4:00 pm on 30 May, several demonstrators, many of them masked, gathered at a busy intersection in Olympia. From this intersection, the crowd marched to the front gate of the Port of Olympia, chanting "Port of Olympia! Tear it down! Port of Olympia! Tear it down!" Members of the crowd tore down the front gate of the port, and several people ran in and laid down in the entranceway. Police jabbed participants with batons, and maced several more before arresting those who would not disperse. 22 people were arrested. Many other demonstrators remained near the port the remainder of the evening, draping banners on the public port watchtower and building an art display around it. The police attacked the crowd again that evening with pepper spray and rubber bullets. One individual was reportedly struck with a Taser.

In the late afternoon of 31 May, the USNS Pomeroy departed the Port of Olympia for Iraq with all its cargo aboard. Protesters staged a die-in on the bank of Budd Inlet, and shared final words in wrapping the May 2006 Port of Olympia protests to a close. There were no arrests nor any reports of police actions that day.

A total of 37 arrests were made during the May 2006 round of port protests. The estimated cost of security for the port was just over $14,000. As of March 2007, it was not yet decided whether the bill would be covered by the military, the city of Olympia, or the Port of Olympia.

Supporters and critics of Port Militarization Resistance alike see the protests at the Port of Olympia in May 2006 as setting the stage for all future port protests. This round is cited as being the origin of the organization Port Militarization Resistance, as well as that of the Olympia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, based at the Evergreen State College.