BLM protesters who participated in 2020 riots will receive $10 million from Seattle

The city of Seattle, Washington, agreed Wednesday to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit from a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who participated in the violent and destructive 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd.

A Wednesday press release from the city revealed that Seattle is settling a complaint filed by a group of 50 protesters in September 2020 who claimed they were injured by police while participating in the demonstrations. Seattle admitted to no wrongdoing.

According to the city, the complaint involved hundreds of interactions between the protesters and local law enforcement officials, over a million pages of records, over 10,000 videos, hundreds of witness interviews, and extensive court filings.

“This decision was the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance,” Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said. “The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the City and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”

“This settlement resolves the majority of the remaining claims arising out of the 2020 demonstration period and is a big step toward allowing the City to focus on the important work of today, while moving forward from events four years ago,” Davison added.

The riots, which were ignited as a result of the death of George Floyd in May 2020, led to the destruction of many local businesses, significant property damage, and even injury and death.

A six-block area in Seattle was taken over by BLM activists who declared it an autonomous zone, called the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone, which was also referred to as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. The rioters forced police out of the area, where multiple people were shot and two were murdered.

According to the plantiffs’ attorneys, one of the protesters suffered a heart attack after she was hit by a blast ball fired by the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Times reported. Another plaintiff, a veteran who uses a cane, was allegedly “gassed and tackled because he didn’t retreat fast enough.” The lawyers claimed that “dozens of others who suffered permanent hearing loss, broken bones, concussion, wounds, bruising and emotional damage” as a result of the SPD’s response.

Judge Sandra Widlan rejected Seattle’s argument that the protesters “assumed the risk” of being injured by law enforcement when they chose to participate in the riots. Even with the exorbitant, objective evidence that a significant number of the protesters who attended the demonstrations were highly destructive and violent, the corporate media continues to claim that the activists participated in a peaceful protest where they were exercising their right to free speech.

The plaintiffs’ lead attorney, Karen Koehler, claimed her clients “were engaged in a First Amendment speech and activity against the very police brutality which they were met with.” She slammed the city for not admitting to wrongdoing.

“They should have said, ‘We’re sorry that we were punks and brutalized peaceful protesters,’” Koehler said.

Despite leftists’ claims that the 2020 riots were not destructive, Seattle previously agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen business owners and residents whose properties incurred significant damages at the hands of the so-called “peaceful protesters,” Blaze News previously reported.

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