Homeless activists occupied the lobby and multiple rooms at the Red Lion in Olympia in an apparent takeover, seeking pandemic housing for dozens of people.
Police in Olympia, Washington, said they removed dozens of homeless activists after they forcibly occupied a downtown hotel to secure housing for some of the city s homeless population.
At 11 a.m. Sunday guests inside the Red Lion Hotel began calling 911 to report a group was attempting to take over the hotel and an employee was allegedly assaulted, according to the Olympia Police Department.
Police estimated about 45 members of the activist group Oly Housing Now were inside and outside the hotel, some of whom were allegedly armed with hatchets, batons and knives.
Seven people were arrested on charges, including burglary and trespassing, according to KIRO-TV, and more arrests were expected.
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.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
On Sunday, a group of homelessness activists who dressed up in antifa-style black bloc, armed with batons and knives, entered the lobby of the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia, Wash., demanding the hotel open rooms for homeless people. Antifa agitators allegedly assaulted an employee while other employees hid in a basement room for more than six hours. The police eventually secured the hotel, but in the skirmish, agitators chanted, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon,” a death threat against cops.
Hotel employees first called the cops at about 11 a.m. Sunday. The staff said a “mob of people wearing black” armed with hatchets, batons, and knives had entered the lobby and demanded the hotel open rooms to them, KIRO7 reported. The antifa agitators wore gas masks, helmets, and goggles, apparently preparing for a battle.
7 arrested after homeless activist group forcibly occupied Washington hotel, city says N dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
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Police in Olympia, Washington, said they removed dozens of homeless activists after they forcibly occupied a downtown hotel to secure housing for some of the city s homeless population.
At 11 a.m. Sunday guests inside the Red Lion Hotel began calling 911 to report a group was attempting to take over the hotel and an employee was allegedly assaulted, according to the Olympia Police Department.
Police estimated about 45 members of the activist group Oly Housing Now were inside and outside the hotel, some of whom were allegedly armed with hatchets, batons and knives.