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12 arrested in SWAT operation after activists armed with KNIVES & AXES briefly occupy hotel in Olympia, WA (VIDEOS)
Published: February 1, 2021
A dozen people were arrested after armed protesters attempted to forcibly take over the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia, Washington. A SWAT team cleared out the hotel and escorted guests and employees out of the building.
Demonstrators armed with hatchets, batons, and knives stormed the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Olympia on Sunday, reportedly assaulting an employee who tried to lock the establishment’s doors. The rest of the staff barricaded themselves in the hotel’s basement, according to a police statement.
At Least 7 Arrested After Activists Occupy Washington State Hotel
At least seven people were taken into custody on Sunday in Olympia, Washington, as law enforcement disrupted an attempt to take over a hotel.
Law enforcement officers, including SWAT officers, closed off the road on which sits the Red Lion Hotel and began clearing the hotel floor by floor after employees fled to the basement in fear after activists entered the building, a police spokesperson told The Olympian. Seven people were arrested and officials expected more arrests before the operation was over.
The Olympia Police Department didn’t respond to a request for comment. Arrest records from Sunday showed one arrest at or near the hotel.
SWAT Team Forcibly Removes Homeless Activists Who Tried to Take over Hotel
On 2/1/21 at 5:06 AM EST
A SWAT team and police officers have been forcibly removing homeless activists who tried to take over a hotel in the city of Olympia in Washington.
Campaigners from Oly Housing Now (OHN), a coalition of Olympia residents working to end homelessness, entered the Red Lion Inn & Suites at 621 Capitol Way South, on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, SWAT teams were seen moving through the lobby with at least 30 police vehicles surrounding the hotel as officers worked to clear the building, according to freelance reporter Shauna Sowersby.
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Source: AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus
Antifa members armed with knives and hatchets took over a hotel in Olympia, Washington, over the weekend. The Olympia Police Department (OPD) is in the process of clearing the Downtown Olympia Red Lion Hotel after it was forcibly occupied by a group identified as Oly Housing Now, a homeless activist group. Employees of the hotel have been safely escorted out of the occupied hotel after sheltering in the basement through the afternoon and part of the evening, the City of Olympia released in a statement. At about 11 a.m. today, people inside the Red Lion began calling 911 to report a group was attempting to forcibly take over the hotel. OPD received reports that the employees felt under threat from the group, and that an employee was allegedly assaulted.
Attempted takeover of Olympia hotel by homeless activists ends in 10 arrests Alfred Charles, KOMONews.com Executive Producer
Attempted takeover of Olympia hotel by homeless activists ends in 10 arrests UP NEXT
Ten homeless activists were arrested in Olympia on Sunday after the group allegedly occupied a downtown hotel, assaulting at least one employee and prompting guests and staffers to shelter in place for several hours, authorities said.
Olympic Police Department Lt. Paul Lower told KOMO News that employees of the Red Lion Inn & Suites, located at 621 Capitol Way South, began calling for help at 11 a.m. after several people, one of whom was wielding a hatchet while others brandished batons and knives, entered the facility, saying they were taking the hotel over.