Demonstrations at the University of Washington were largely peaceful Saturday, despite concerns over potential violence from outside agitators.
A handful of arrests were made after a college Republican rally at the campus drew counterprotesters. A couple skirmishes broke out; police responded with pepper spray and UW police said five people were arrested for disorderly conduct.
About 40 conservatives gathered inside a barricaded area in the campus's iconic Red Square. They were outnumbered about four-to-one by leftist counter-demonstrators. Only members of the media were allowed inside the barricaded zone.
University officials had warned of up to 1,000 protesters and announced "credible" information indicating there would be violence.
The rally was organized by campus Republicans and started with a prayer for peace. It didn't take long for that peace to be broken. Each side hurled nasty epithets at the other, but the confrontations were mainly kept to words.
There was at least one arrest and some pepper spray deployed at times, but it was a far cry from other demonstrations in Seattle since President Trump took office. Last April someone was shot during protests at the university.
Campus Republicans invited members of the conservative group Patriot Prayer to speak. The group's leader, Joey Gibson, invoked the name of Martin Luther King during his speech, saying many conservatives are feeling ostracized on campuses across the country. He applauded student Republicans for standing for their values.
"Martin Luther King went where the racist white people said he couldn't go. He went straight there, and they would take the hate. They would take the beatings, film it and show it for the world to see. That's what we've been doing," said Gibson.
