Martial Law in Seattle
by Ed Hohmann

martial law: the military rules and regulations by which the civil authority is superseded in time of war or during public emergencies; established and enforced by the officer in charge in accordance with military law and the usages of war. - Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

The paramilitary concept of police is a police state, and our Constitution was created to prevent a police state. - Ramsey Clark

Government propaganda has been ranting for some time now about the terrorist threat posed by Christians and patriots. The indications are that government provocateurs will commit another terrorist act, similar to the New York Trade Center and Oklahoma City Federal Building bombings, that can be blamed on one or more so-called right-wing organizations in order to justify the declaration of martial law.

The police attacks in Seattle, Washington are proof that even left-wing organizations are not going to be spared by the Global New World Order. These people, their beliefs, and their causes are also being cynically sacrificed in order to create the mass unrest in America that will justify the imposition of full-scale martial law.

In Seattle, National Guardsmen along with state and local police in riot gear enforced martial law during the World Trade Organization conference. Constitutional rights were ignored as hundreds of police shot, beat, and gassed tens of thousands of peaceful protesters, residents, and innocent bystanders.

The events surrounding the WTO conference in Seattle have all the earmarks of a government operation, scripted for the purpose of setting a relatively small-scale, local precedent for martial law. A handful of masked provocateurs vandalizing local businesses provided the excuse for an extremely vicious overwhelming attack upon law-abiding citizens.

According to Lori Wallach with the organization Public Citizen, the protest in Seattle began with tens of thousands of protesters blocking traffic and demonstrating their opposition to WTO policies in a peaceful manner. Speaking on CNN's Burden of Proof program, Ms. Wallach said that she walked among the crowds for hours without the slightest sign of trouble. The Seattle police stood by looking on, and did not interfere with the peaceful protest in any way.

Later that day, according to Ms. Wallach, about 60 to 70 hooligans wearing black ski masks suddenly appeared and began breaking shop windows and committing other acts of vandalism. The peaceful protesters appealed to the police to stop the vandals, but the police refused to do anything. Finally, in frustration, the peaceful protesters grabbed the window-smashing hooligans and physically brought them over to the police and asked the police to arrest them. Still, the police did nothing. Some steelworkers among the protesters finally wound up sitting on about 20 of the hooligans for several hours to prevent further vandalism. The peaceful protesters wanted the world to hear their message and did not want to be associated with the window-smashers.

At some point, the Secret Service called the Seattle mayor's office and said that the streets would have to be cleared of all protesters. "This is an embarrassment. The President will not come to Seattle with all of those protesters in the streets. Clear the streets now!"

That is when the police finally attacked, and when they did, it was in force, using everything from armored personnel carriers and horses to nerve gas and concussion grenades to clear everyone from the streets; young and old, peaceful or not.

The Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, who has since resigned, said that 99 percent of the protesters were peaceful. Why, then, did he allow such massive retaliation against a cooperative crowd? Assistant Police Chief Ed Joiner was in charge of the police tactical operations and actually gave the order for the police to attack. Joiner says that in the future, such meetings should be held in countries with military governments or in cities that can bring in 5,000 to 10,000 officers.

Along with the protesters themselves, residents, journalists, shoppers, people caught in traffic, and other innocent bystanders were beaten, gassed, and rounded up to be taken to the nearby closed down Sand Point Naval Station to be processed. In fact, one Seattle reporter was gassed six times in a single day while trying to cover the story.

In order to make the citizens more vulnerable, the police banned anyone from possessing, using, buying, or selling gas masks in the city of Seattle. Gas masks are protective devices. Why do the police need to ensure that the citizens are defenseless, and where do they get the constitutional authority to unilaterally ban anyone from buying, selling, and possessing anything?

Multiple eyewitness accounts all agree on the following points regarding the Seattle police attacks:

· Undercover government agents from unknown agencies infiltrated the protest. Some of these agents were observed acting as provocateurs, encouraging and engaging in the violence.

· The police actions were universally described as "martial law" in a "police state".

· The actual property damage and looting was minimal.

· Less than 100 hooligans in black ski masks were responsible for the vandalism. · The police made no attempt to arrest the vandals.

· The police engaged in extremely brutal and violent behavior against peaceful protesters and residents of the area, including the gassing of infants one year old and elderly ladies in their seventies.

· Police tortured those who were arrested.

· The police attacked with:
- Concussion grenades
- Rubber and wooden bullets
- Tear gas
- Pepper spray
- Nerve gas of some sort (according to a doctor)

· Medical doctors reported that they treated the following injuries: - - -Concussion injuries
- Broken bones
- Broken teeth
- Penetration wounds
- Ear wounds
- Tear gas injuries
- Seizures, muscle contractions, and convulsions from nerve agents
- Damage to eyes, including the cornea
- Damage to skin

· The national news media did not report accurately. The violence and vandalism was exaggerated, and the police attack was not presented as an assault on primarily peaceful demonstrators and innocent bystanders.

The single most telling piece of information that was corroborated by the various eyewitnesses is the fact that hundreds of Seattle police, Washington State Troopers, and National Guardsmen did not arrest the few dozen hooligans who were responsible for the vandalism, even when they could easily have done so. Instead, they herded them around the downtown streets for hours in order to spread the damage over a larger area. Finally, they herded them into a residential area that was outside of Seattle city limits and began gassing and assaulting the residents there. Only a half dozen of the 500+ people that were finally arrested were charged with felonies.

The implications are that the so-called "rioting" was a staged event. Peaceful American citizens were set up and attacked in such a manner as to provide plenty of photo opportunities for the media. Up to now, the people who were most concerned about martial law and the American police state were those normally described as "right-wing". By attacking a large group of "left-wingers", the nation had an opportunity to become used to seeing the new American police state in action. The left was taken by surprise and was unable to counter the police effectively. The right, for the most part, sat back and watched as "those commies got what they deserved"

. By targeting a left-wing demonstration, the authorities were confident that there would be no response from patriots and militias around the country. In the future, when right-wing groups are targeted in this fashion, there will be less of a stir because of the Seattle precedent. The media will refer to Seattle in order to show that right-wing organizations are not being singled out for this treatment. Soon, scenes like this will be the norm all across the country as the subjugation of the American public continues.

It is a fact that the American Police State cannot control the citizenry if the people resist. There are many, many more people that there are police, and we still have the means to defend ourselves. Terror is the tool that will keep the people from resisting the Police State, and the images from Seattle were meant to instill that terror and make it seem a natural and accepted part of American life.