SEATTLE — Jessica Hovater, who lives, works and raises her children in Seattle, says she never felt unsafe in downtown until this year.
"I left just this door and walked exactly two blocks up Virginia to hit my bus stop," said Hovater. "A man approached me while I was on the phone with my husband, asked me for a lighter and when I said no, he punched me in the face."
She said what happened after she left work Monday evening around 5 p.m. is unacceptable.
Photos taken after she was assaulted show her bloody and swollen lip. Hovater said it is the second time she's been assaulted this year.
"I won't carry a purse anymore, I will no longer be on the phone anymore downtown, I will now keep my hands free when I'm downtown at all times," she said.
The Seattle Police Department said officers responded and arrested a man, who also had a warrant, for investigation of assault in this case.
"We're supposed to feel proud of our city when we can't even walk down our streets? Those two things don't add up," Hovater said. "This is what Seattle has done to its own residents."
What happened to Hovater points to a more widespread, violent trend. Seattle has already surpassed last year's record-breaking number of homicides. In downtown Seattle, there have been 139 aggravated assaults this year — that's more than double the reported assaults in nearby Belltown.
"I love this city and I'm not ready to leave, so I'm going to fight for it," said Hovater, who is protesting in hopes that City Councilmembers take notice and respond.
"We can not keep inviting and spending all this money on our city when the rest of us who are living and working here can't even get to and from work," she said. "That's what I would like to see, I would like to see them actually take action."
Seattle City Council members, and specifically Councilmember Andrew Lewis who represents Downtown Seattle, did not respond to KING 5' request for an interview about this story.