Bernie Sanders first event in Seattle was shut down by Black Lives Matter protesters, while the second event was attended by 15,000 people on Saturday.
A dozen members of the Black Lives Matter took over the stage, jumping over barricades and taking the microphone off of Sanders, who was just on stage for a few seconds. Marissa Janae Johnson and Mara Jacqeline Willaford, co-founders of the organization's chapter in Seattle, held a banner that said "Smash Racism," according to CNN.
Bernie Sanders shut down by #BlackLivesMatter protesters: https://t.co/FMNz3ye8rC pic.twitter.com/v4mbAjjK67
— The Hill (@thehill) August 9, 2015
The pair were booed by the crowd wanting officers to arrest them, to which Johnson retorted "I was going to tell Bernie how racist this city is, filled with its progressives, but you did it for me." She then talked about police issues in Seattle and the consent decree of the Justice Department over the use of force. They also accused the crowd of "white supremacist liberalism." After their speech, they demanded four-and-a-half minutes of silence in memory of Michael Brown, a black man shot by a white police officer, The Seattle Times reported.
Sanders waited for 20 minutes before trying to attempt to continue the event, only to be interrupted once again. He then proceeded to the next event at the Comet Tavern on Capitol Hill.
He was heard saying, "When we stand together, when black and white stand together, when gay and straight stand together, when women and men stand together, when we stand together, there is nothing, nothing, that we cannot accomplish." Inside were 12,000 people with 3,000 more outside cheering for him.
People were said to be very supportive of Sanders when he said that college education should be free and the U.S. should carry a "Medicare for all" system, said on The Washington Post.
Sanders will be on the West Coast for three days and is expecting to draw huge audiences in Portland and Los Angeles.
Watch the video of the interrupted event below:
