On June 19th, 2020, Washington State Patrol and Department of Transportation closed a portion of Interstate 5 so that a Black Lives Matter protest could march on the freeway.

The protest was made up of hundreds of people, an ideal place for the spread of COVID-19. No matter how noble the cause, this protest did not abide by the rules laid out by Gov. Jay Inslee's proclamation to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Prior to the gathering, WSP circulated a 15-page action plan entitled “Interstate 5 Protest Closure Action Plan.’’ By helping facilitate this mass gathering, WSP went against Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency proclamation and state law.

We believe that no matter how noble the cause of any gathering may be, it is simply not up to the WSP to recklessly put the public health of the community at risk by actively facilitating a mass gathering in violation of State law.

Learn more about the case by watching this video: