Blocking major highway through Seattle a matter of life or death for some

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, made the following comments about this weekend’s anti-Israel, traffic-blocking protest across Interstate 5 through Seattle.

“People have the right to peaceably protest, but they don’t have the right to put themselves and drivers in danger by blocking the busiest section of the busiest road in our state. I understand how causing disruption in a highly visible location will draw attention, but it could easily go wrong. Someone could get injured or killed. We’ve seen it happen.

“Aside from being dangerous and unreasonable, it’s also a class C felony to interfere with the ability of emergency vehicles to serve the public by interfering with a mode of transportation, such as a freeway. We need to empower the Washington State Patrol to enforce this law and arrest those who choose to obstruct the work of first responders. Their freedom of speech does not justify trapping an ambulance or fire truck in traffic simply because protestors want to be seen. Getting the patient to a hospital can be a matter of life or death. The governor should encourage law enforcement to take strong action when this happens.”