Bellingham homeless camp cleared a day early over concerns about agitators, mayor says
Mayor Seth Fleetwood said he authorized the clearance of a homeless tent encampment in front of City Hall a day early after receiving “credible information” from multiple sources that “certain groups known to have a history of confrontation” put a call out throughout the Northwest to gather in the city on Friday.
Under the original deadline, campers had until 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, to gather their belongings and leave Camp 210, which started in front of City Hall on Nov. 11 with five tents before spreading across Lottie Street to the Bellingham Public Library lawn. Campers were protesting the lack of housing.
“We acted today to reduce the risk of further injury, violence and vandalism by those who are using the plight of our community’s most vulnerable to further their own agenda,” Fleetwood said during a news conference on Thursday, Jan. 28.
Protests occurred last Friday, Jan. 22, when the city tried to clear what it called a safety zone around City Hall. Fleetwood said that confrontation occurred when “intentional agitators” from outside Bellingham joined peaceful protesters.
Bellingham officials provided notice on Jan. 19 that people camping within 25 feet of City Hall would have to remove their belongings by Friday, Jan. 22.
In response, multiple people showed up to protest and protect the encampment. Protesters created a human barrier and later broke into City Hall, prompting city workers to leave, in order to stop city officials from attempting to remove the encampment that day.
“Though all who entered left peacefully, the show of force was clear,” Interim Bellingham Police Chief Flo Simon said during the news conference on Thursday.
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Later Friday, Jan. 22, a confrontation between two groups of people at the encampment left two people injured in a hatchet attack, according to Bellingham police.
“Our civic center was becoming the target of agitators far more intent on conflict than working towards any social good,” Fleetwood said. “This concern regarding agitators was compounded by incidents at the encampment, which have greatly escalated in recent weeks, and the presence of a fortified wooden structure built outside the front doors containing interior spaces and unknown items.”
By the time that events on Thursday ended around 3:30 p.m. with protesters leaving, four people had been arrested on allegations that included assaulting officers and disorderly conduct, according to Simon.
Three law enforcement officials were assaulted although unharmed, Simon said, adding that the people who were living in the encampment left peacefully on Thursday.
In all, Bellingham Police deployed 40 to 50 officers. The department also had help from the Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol, according to Simon. The Sheriff’s Office called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help at the Whatcom County Courthouse, she said.
The start
Bellingham Police and Public Works crews, with the help of other law enforcement agencies, began clearing the camp on Thursday morning.
A Bellingham Police tweet at 9 a.m announced the effort and asked residents to avoid the area.
“Thank you for avoiding the area while our officers and others assist encampment residents gather their belongings, obtain transportation and seek safe shelter,” the tweet said.
A Bellingham Occupied Protest Mutual Aid Facebook page post said road access to the camp was blocked and excavators were in use.
The city’s action came more than 24 hours before the 4 p.m. Friday, deadline the city issued to encampment residents and their advocates on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Bellingham Police issued the following statement at 11:44 a.m.: “Bellingham Police Officers responded to City Hall this morning to secure the encampment on the lawn.
“There have been significant, ongoing safety concerns in and around the encampment for the past several weeks, including a fortified structure containing unknown items outside the front doors. All those at the encampment were given notice and the opportunity to collect or store their property and leave the lawn.
“Police have worked this morning to secure the scene, provide a safe setting for camp residents to move and a safe working environment for Public Works to begin moving people from the area. They also are assisting campers in gathering their belongings, obtaining transportation, and finding safe shelter and other services.
“While many residing at the encampment are leaving the area willingly and peacefully, several protesters have assaulted officers who are maintaining a safety line. This is a complex and rapidly evolving situation, please be patient and we will provide information as we are able. More encampment information at cob.org/encampment.”
Where are they moving?
Volunteers helped move campers, their belongings and other pieces of Camp 210 to the lower parking lot of Frank Geri Softball Fields, off Puget Street.
“They are relocating into the parking lot,” Nicole Oliver, director of the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department, said to The Bellingham Herald. “At this moment, we’re not going to do anything.”
Oliver, who was on site for a couple of hours on Thursday, said she asked people to stay on the pavement and off the fields.
Public trails around the encampment have been closed, and signs have been posted to let neighbors know. Oliver said she didn’t want people to walk through an active encampment.
Simon said it was not part of the city’s plans to have campers in this new spot.
The site is across the way from Swift Haven, the tiny homes community and temporary winter shelter for the homeless operated by the nonprofit HomesNOW! in collaboration with the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Doug Gustafson, chairman of HomesNOW!, said Swift Haven was full but HomesNOW! could operate another village with 25 additional tiny homes for the homeless if the city provides it with land.
Simon said campers also have gone to Base Camp, the homeless shelter operated by Lighthouse Mission Ministries on Cornwall Avenue.
Friday deadline
Fleetwood said those who were living in Camp 210 and their advocates “seek additional winter shelter from their local governments. We have acknowledged this need and we are making solid and diligent progress.”
“We took urgent, emergency action this morning outside Bellingham City Hall to protect the safety of all: people who have been living unsheltered on the lawn, members of the public who wish to conduct civic business, and employees of the City, the County and businesses in our civic center,” Fleetwood said in a prepared statement released to The Herald, which he later read at the press conference.
The mayor also expressed concerns about conflicts at Camp 210.
“We have seen tensions rise and an increase in fights and violence, threats to people who walk by, mental health episodes, likely drug transactions, and other criminal behavior. This is in addition to serious public health risks caused by human and animal waste, refuse, lack of mask-wearing and social distancing necessary to prevent COVID-19,” Fleetwood said.
Bellingham Police have responded to over 60 calls at Camp 210 during its 2-1/2 months existence, many of which were safety-hazard and crime-related, Simon said. They included several felony assaults with suspects from the encampment using weapons such as hatchets, baseball bats, broken sticks and pieces of wood — against each other and members of the public, Simon said.
There also have been numerous fights, misdemeanor assaults, domestic violence incidents and other dangerous behavior, she added.
Expecting a crowd of protesters to gather on Friday, Jan. 29, the city decided to move campers out a day early.
Simon said protesters who have come to Bellingham claimed to be from antifa. She said the call was going to groups as far as Portland to come to the city “and disrupt the cleanup.”
“Some of the groups are just extremist,” Simon said at the news conference.
Antifa is shorthand for anti-fascists, far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Simon said there were protesters from the south who came up to Bellingham on Thursday, Jan. 28, adding they weren’t identified but “were wearing the same gear that antifa wears when they come to protest.”
“Claims of ‘outside agitators’ and denouncement of graffiti only serve to erase the very real and very valid anger and frustration that many community members feel,” BOP Mutual Aid said in a statement in a previous Bellingham Herald article. “No amount of ‘playing by the rules’ of this current system will result in housing for all, because the current system is exactly what enables 1,500+ people in Whatcom County to live on the streets and in the forests in the first place.”
