View source for 1999 Seattle WTO protests

{{Short description|Series of anti-globalization demonstrations}}
{{redirect|Battle of Seattle}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title        = 1999 Seattle WTO protests
| partof       = the [[anti-globalization movement]]
| image        = WTO protests in Seattle November 30 1999.jpg
| caption      = A police officer sprays [[pepper spray]] at the crowd
| date         = November 30 – December 3, 1999
| place        = [[Seattle]], Washington, United States
| coordinates  =
| causes       =
| goals        =
| methods      =
| status       =
| result       = Resignation of Seattle police chief [[Norm Stamper]];<br />Increased exposure of the WTO in US media; 157 individuals arrested but released for lack of probable cause or hard evidence; $250,000 paid to the arrested by the city of Seattle; Creation of the [[Independent Media Center]]
| side1        = [[Anti-globalization movement]]<br />[[Direct Action Network]]<br />NGOs<br />Labor unions<br />Student and religious groups
| side2        = [[Seattle Police Department]]<br />[[King County Sheriff's Office]]<br />[[Washington State Patrol]]<br />[[81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team (United States)|81st Brigade]], [[Washington Army National Guard]]
| leadfigures1 =
| leadfigures2 =
| leadfigures3 =
| howmany1     = ~40,000
| howmany2     = Unknown
| casualties1  =
| casualties2  =
| fatalities   =
| injuries     =
| arrests      =
| detentions   =
| charged      =
| fined        =
| casualties_label =
| notes            =
}}
{{Anarchism US|history}}
The '''1999 Seattle WTO protests''', sometimes referred to as the '''Battle of Seattle''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/WTO-riots-in-Seattle-15-years-ago-5915088.php|date=November 29, 2014|title=WTO riots in Seattle: 15 years ago|access-date=May 4, 2015|archive-date=May 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505021023/http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/WTO-riots-in-Seattle-15-years-ago-5915088.php|url-status=live}}</ref> were a series of [[Anti-globalization movement|anti-globalization]] protests surrounding the [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999|WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999]], where members of the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) convened at the [[Washington State Convention and Trade Center]] in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] on November 30, 1999. The Conference was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations.

The negotiations were quickly overshadowed by massive street protests outside the hotels and the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The protests were nicknamed "'''N30'''", akin to [[Carnival Against Capital|J18]] and similar mobilizations. The large scale of the demonstrations, estimated at no fewer than 40,000 protesters, dwarfed any previous demonstration in the United States against a world meeting of any of the organizations generally associated with [[economic globalization]], such as the WTO, the [[International Monetary Fund]], and the [[World Bank]].<ref>Seattle Police Department: ''The Seattle Police Department After Action Report: World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference Seattle, Washington November 29 – December 3, 1999''. p. 41.<br />"Police estimated the size of this march [the labor march] in excess of 40,000."</ref>

==Organizations and planning==
Planning for the actions began months in advance and included local, national, and international organizations. Among the most notable participants were national and international [[nongovernmental organization]]s (NGOs) such as [[Global Exchange]]<ref name=Bogardus>Bogardus, Keven (September 22, 2004). [http://projects.publicintegrity.org/oil/report.aspx?aid=383 Venezuela Head Polishes Image With Oil Dollars: President Hugo Chavez takes his case to America's streets.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004222044/http://projects.publicintegrity.org/oil//report.aspx?aid=383 |date=October 4, 2011}} [[Center for Public Integrity]]. Retrieved February 22, 2010.</ref> (especially those concerned with labor issues, the environment, and consumer protection), labor unions (including the [[AFL–CIO]]), student groups, religion-based groups ([[Jubilee 2000]]), and [[anarchism|anarchists]] (some of whom formed a [[black bloc]]).<ref>[https://mises.org/story/348 Anarchism: Two Kinds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130031658/http://mises.org/story/348 |date=January 30, 2010}}, [[Wendy McElroy]]. About market, violence, and anarchist reject to WTO.</ref> The protests also drew support from some political conservatives, such as American presidential candidate and commentator [[Pat Buchanan]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Koppel|first=Naomi|date=1 December 1999|title=Buchanan Praises WTO Protesters|website=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/65c38548b2c76a6d8c773ffe75e4015f|url-status=live|access-date=11 November 2021|agency=AP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116221933/https://apnews.com/article/65c38548b2c76a6d8c773ffe75e4015f |archive-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref>

The coalition was loose, with some opponent groups focused on opposition to WTO policies (especially those related to [[free trade]]), with others motivated by prolabor, [[anticapitalist]], or environmental agendas.  Many of the NGOs represented at the protests came with credentials to participate in the official meetings, while also planning various educational and press events. The AFL–CIO, with cooperation from its member unions, organized a large permitted rally and march from [[Seattle Center]] to [[Downtown, Seattle, Washington|downtown]].

[[File:WTO protestors, 1999 (20680767813).jpg|thumb|The "turtles": protestors in sea turtle costumes]]
[[File:WTO_protest_sign_(14988892087).jpg|thumb|WTO protest sign depicting the organization trampling on three environmental laws.]]
However, others were more interested in taking [[direct action]], including both [[civil disobedience]] and acts of vandalism and property destruction to disrupt the meeting. Several groups were loosely organized together under the [[Direct Action Network]] (DAN), with a plan to disrupt the meetings by blocking streets and intersections downtown to prevent delegates from reaching the convention center, where the meeting was to be held. The black bloc was not affiliated with DAN, but was responding to the original call for autonomous resistance actions on November 30 issued by [[Peoples Global Action|People's Global Action]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/seattle/n30/n30callen.htm|title=People's Global Action "November 30th, 1999-A Global Day of Action, Resistance, and Carnival Against the Capitalist System"|website=www.nadir.org|access-date=November 19, 2013|archive-date=May 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509232249/http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/seattle/n30/n30callen.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Of the different coalitions that aligned in protest were the "teamsters and turtles" – a blue–green alliance consisting of the [[teamsters]] (trade unions) and environmentalists.<ref>Berg, John C. 2003, ''Teamsters and Turtles?: U.S. Progressive Political Movements in the 21st Century'', Rowman & Littlefield</ref>

===Corporations targeted===
Certain activists, including locals and an additional group of anarchists from [[Eugene, Oregon]]<ref name="time">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000411-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019060126/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000411-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2007|title=In Oregon, Anarchists Act Locally|magazine=TIME|access-date=February 28, 2008|last=Roosevelt|first=Margot| date=July 23, 2001}}</ref> (where they had gathered that summer for a music festival),<ref name="eugeneriot">{{cite web |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-166506496.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906124548/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-166506496.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 6, 2018 |title=Local unrest followed cycle of social movements |publisher=The Register-Guard |access-date=June 13, 2024 |date=July 1, 2007 }}</ref> advocated more confrontational tactics, and conducted [[vandalism]] of corporate [[property|properties]] in downtown Seattle. In a subsequent communique, they listed the particular corporations targeted, which they considered to have committed corporate crime.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.salon.com/1999/12/10/anarchists/|title=Who were those masked anarchists in Seattle?|date=1999-12-10|work=Salon|access-date=2018-10-17|language=en-US|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017163131/https://www.salon.com/1999/12/10/anarchists/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Lead-up months===
On July 12, the ''[[Financial Times]]'' reported that the latest United Nations Human Development report advocated "principles of performance for multinationals on labour standards, fair trade and environmental protection ... needed to counter the negative effects of globalisation on the poorest nations". The report itself argued, "An essential aspect of global governance is responsibility to people—to equity, to justice, to enlarging the choices of all".<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1999/ ''Globalization with a Human Face''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703061954/http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1999/ |date=July 3, 2008}} UNHDR, 1999</ref>

On July 16, Helene Cooper of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' warned of an impending "massive mobilization against globalization" being planned for the end-of-year Seattle WTO conference.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto/wsj071699.html |title=Globalization Foes Plan to Protest WTO's Seattle Round Trade Talks |publisher=Globalexchange.org |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804174410/http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto/wsj071699.html |archive-date=August 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>  Next day, the London ''[[The Independent|Independent]]'' newspaper savaged the WTO and appeared to side with the organizers of the rapidly developing storm of protest:

<blockquote>The way it has used [its] powers is leading to a growing suspicion that its initials should really stand for World Take Over. In a series of rulings it has struck down measures to help the world's poor, protect the environment, and safeguard health in the interests of private—usually American—companies.

"The WTO seems to be on a crusade to increase private profit at the expense of all other considerations, including the well-being and quality of life of the mass of the world's people," says Ronnie Hall, trade campaigner at Friends of the Earth International. "It seems to have a relentless drive to extend its power."<ref>[https://groups.yahoo.com/group/StopWTORound/message/56 THE HIDDEN TENTACLES OF THE WORLD'S MOST SECRET BODY] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221185009/https://www.yahoo.com/ |date=February 21, 2022 }} Sunday Independent, 17 July 1999</ref></blockquote>

On November 16, two weeks before the conference, President [[Bill Clinton]] issued Executive Order 13141—Environmental Review of Trade Agreements,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=56947 |title=Presidential Executive Order 13141 |publisher=Presidency.ucsb.edu |date=November 16, 1999 |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-date=August 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804164915/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=56947 |url-status=live }}</ref> which committed the United States to a policy of "assessment and consideration of the environmental impacts of trade agreements" and stated, "Trade agreements should contribute to the broader goal of sustainable development."

[[File:Anarchists at WTO protest (14988709689).jpg|thumbnail|upright=1.2|[[Black bloc]] organizing during WTO protests]]

Activists staged a spoof of Seattle daily newspaper the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer|Post-Intelligencer]]'' on Wednesday November 24, inserting thousands of hoax editions of a four-page front-page wrap-around into piles of newspapers awaiting distribution to hundreds of street boxes and retail outlets. The spoof front-page stories were "Boeing to move overseas" (to Indonesia) and "Clinton pledges help for poorest nations".<ref>Parvaz D "[http://www.seattlepi.com/local/pi25.shtml P-I executives not amused by protesters' parody]" ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'', November 25, 1999</ref> The byline on the Boeing story attributed it to [[Joe Hill (activist)|Joe Hill]] (a union organizer who had been executed by firing squad in Utah in 1915). On the same day, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development reported:

<blockquote>developing countries have remained steadfast in their demand that developed countries honour Uruguay Round commitments before moving forward full force with new trade negotiations. Specifically, developing countries are concerned over developed countries' compliance with agreements on market access for textiles, their use of antidumping measures against developing countries' exports, and over-implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs).<ref>''[http://ictsd.net/i/news/bridgesweekly/19192/ No New Issues Without Redress Of Uruguay Round Imbalances] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221185029/https://greendot208.org/ |date=February 21, 2022 }}''ICTSD ''Bridges Weekly'' Seattle 99, Vol 3 No 46, November 24, 1999</ref></blockquote>

==N30==
[[File:WTO Protests-Seattle-Marchers-29Nov1999.jpg|thumb|Protesters march against the World Trade Organization, Seattle, November 29, 1999.]]
On the morning of Tuesday, November 30, 1999, the DAN's plan was put into effect. Several hundred activists arrived in the deserted streets near the convention center and began to take control of key intersections. Over the next few hours, a number of marchers began to converge on the area from different directions. These included a student march from the north, a march of citizens of the developing world who marched in from the south and, beginning around 09:00, militant anarchists (in a formation known as a [[black bloc]]) marching down Pike Street from 6th Avenue, blockading the streets with newspaper boxes and smashing windows.<ref name="depts.washington.edu">{{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/day2.htm|title=Day 2: November 30, 1999|website=depts.washington.edu|access-date=November 19, 2013|archive-date=September 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924070731/http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/day2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Some demonstrators held rallies, others held teach-ins and at least one group staged an early-morning street party. Meanwhile, a number of protesters still controlled the intersections using lockdown formations.[[File:WTO protests.jpg|thumb|Seattle police on Union Street, during the protests]]
That morning, the [[King County Sheriff's Office]] and [[Seattle Police Department]] fired [[pepper spray]], [[tear gas]] canisters, and [[stun grenade]]s<ref name="BBC12299">{{cite news|last1=Reynolds|first1=Paul|title=Eyewitness: The Battle of Seattle|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/547581.stm|access-date=April 4, 2017|work=BBC News|date=December 2, 1999|archive-date=April 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404131844/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/547581.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> at protesters at several intersections in an attempt to reopen the blocked streets and allow as many WTO delegates as possible through the blockade.<ref>Seattle Police Department, After-Action Report, pp. 39–40<br />Draft King Country Sheriff's Office Final Report, II.H.2.<br />WTO Accountability Review Committee, ''Combined Timeline of Events During the WTO Ministerial, 1999'', Tuesday, Nov. 30: 9:09&nbsp;am & 10 am.<br />A recording of the Seattle Police Department radio channel command-5 is also available, but has a gap from 0836 to 0840.<br />Highleyman, Liz, ''Scenes from the Battle of Seattle''.<br />St. Clair, Jeffrey, ''Seattle Diary''.<br />Gillham, Patrick F., and Marx, Gary T., ''Complexity and Irony in Policing: The World Trade Organization in Seattle''.<br />de Armond, Paul, ''Netwar in the Emerald City: WTO Protest Strategy and Tactics'', pp. 216–217.</ref>  At 6th Avenue and Union Street, the crowd threw objects back at the police.<ref name="HL2142">{{cite web|last1=Oldham|first1=Kit|last2=Wilma|first2=David|title=Essay 2142|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/2142|website=HistoryLink.org|access-date=April 4, 2017|date=October 20, 2009|archive-date=April 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404131150/http://www.historylink.org/File/2142|url-status=live}}</ref>

By late morning, the black bloc had swelled to 200 people and smashed dozens of shops and police cars. This seems to have set off a chain reaction of sorts, with previously nonviolent protesters throwing bottles at police and joining in the vandalism shortly before noon.<ref name="depts.washington.edu"/>

The police were eventually overwhelmed by the mass of protesters downtown, including many who had chained themselves together and were blocking intersections. Meanwhile, the late-morning labor-organized rally and march drew tens of thousands; though the intended march route had them turning back before they reached the convention center, some ignored the marshals and joined what had become a chaotic scene downtown.

At noon, the opening ceremony at the convention center was officially canceled.<ref name="depts.washington.edu"/>  It took police much of the afternoon and evening to clear the streets. Seattle mayor [[Paul Schell]] declared a state of emergency, imposed a [[curfew]], and a 50-block "no-protest zone."

=== December 1 ===

Overnight, the [[governor]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Gary Locke]], called in two [[battalion]]s of [[Washington Army National Guard|Army National Guardsmen]], other law enforcement agencies sent support, and before daylight on Wednesday, troops and officers lined the perimeter of the no-protest zone. Police surrounded and arrested several groups of would-be protesters (and more than one bystander).  Beginning at 21:00, a major clash took place on Broadway in the vicinity of Denny Way, involving rocks, bottles, and police concussion grenades.  It did not involve a black bloc, but appears to have included local residents, although it is known that many local residents were treated as protesters, even being teargassed, despite having no part in the protests. Police called in from other cities mistook the typically crowded streets of Capitol Hill as groups of protesters.<ref>[https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19991205/2999667/monday-nov-29 Alex Tizon, "Monday, Nov. 29 – Saturday, Dec. 4: WTO Week" ''Seattle Times'', December 5, 1999] ;</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/day3.htm|title=Day 3: December 1, 1999|website=depts.washington.edu|access-date=November 22, 2013|archive-date=May 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509051722/http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/day3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> More than 500 people were jailed on Wednesday. Throughout the day, police used tear gas to disperse crowds downtown, although a permitted demonstration organized by the Steelworkers Union was held along the waterfront.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9213|title=WTO Meeting and Protests in Seattle (1999) -- Part 2 - HistoryLink.org|website=www.historylink.org|access-date=November 10, 2012|archive-date=October 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026065745/http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9213|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:National Guard, Downtown Seattle, WTO 1999.jpg|thumbnail|left|Army National Guardsmen marching to their next assignment]]

=== December 2–3 ===

Protests continued the following days. Thousands demonstrated outside the Seattle Police Department protesting their tactics and arrests of peaceful protestors. President Clinton arrived and attended the conference. On December 3 the conference ended as delegations were unable to reach agreements, partly in response to the protests.<ref>{{Citation|title=Four Days in Seattle The 1999 WTO Riots plus news stories one week later| date=May 2, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFamvR9CpYw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/pFamvR9CpYw| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live|publisher=KIRO7|language=en|access-date=2019-12-07}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/11/99/battle_for_free_trade/544769.stm|title=BBC News {{!}} BATTLE FOR FREE TRADE {{!}} Seattle trade talks timeline|website=news.bbc.co.uk|access-date=2019-12-07|archive-date=December 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207050333/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/11/99/battle_for_free_trade/544769.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
Confrontations with the police continued, albeit at a lower intensity. The primary goal of disrupting the trade talks achieved, some sought the horizons of possibility; it was determined quickly that the necessary ambition to achieve the broader goals of various anarchist factions was not sufficient.<ref>{{Citation|title=Breaking the Spell|url=https://crimethinc.com/videos/breaking-the-spell|access-date=2022-01-10|archive-date=January 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111045653/https://crimethinc.com/videos/breaking-the-spell|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Media response ==
''[[The New York Times]]'' published false reports that protesters threw [[Molotov cocktail]]s at police.<ref>{{cite news |last=Christian |first=Nichole M. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/04/us/police-brace-for-protests-in-windsor-and-detroit.html?emc=rss&partner=rssnyt |title=Police Brace For Protests In Windsor And Detroit |work=The New York Times |date=June 4, 2000 |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-date=July 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727115331/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/04/us/police-brace-for-protests-in-windsor-and-detroit.html?emc=rss&partner=rssnyt |url-status=live }}</ref> Two days later, the ''Times'' printed a correction saying that the protest was mostly peaceful and no protesters were accused of throwing objects at delegates or the police, but the original error persisted in later accounts in the mainstream media.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.de-fact-o.com/fact_read.php?id=12 |title=Origins of the Molotov Myth |publisher=De-Fact-o.com |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804145722/http://www.de-fact-o.com/fact_read.php?id=12 |archive-date=August 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

The [[Seattle City Council]] dispelled the reports with its own investigation findings:
<blockquote>The level of panic among police is evident from radio communication and from their inflated crowd estimates, which exceed the numbers shown on news videotapes. ARC investigators found the rumors of "Molotov cocktails" and sale of flammables from a supermarket had no basis in fact. But, rumors were important in contributing to the police sense of being besieged and in considerable danger.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofseattle.net/wtocommittee/arcfinal.pdf |title=Seattle City Council findings |access-date=17 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060107103808/http://www.cityofseattle.net/wtocommittee/arcfinal.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2006 |url-status=usurped |df=mdy-all }}</ref></blockquote>

An article in the magazine ''[[The Nation]]'' disputed that Molotov cocktails have ever been thrown at an antiglobalization protest within the United States.<ref>[http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/295733.shtml ''The Myth of Protest Violence''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409102657/http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/295733.shtml |date=April 9, 2009 }}, [[David Graeber]]. The Nation.</ref> 

Though media coverage of the protests condemned the violence of some of the protesters, the nature of this violence has been justified by some people. Specifically, the violence employed was not person-to-person violence, but "acts directed toward property, not people".{{sfn|DeLuca|Peeples|2002}} 

Though many still denounced the violent tactics used by protesters, this violence clearly resulted in increased media coverage of the event. The WTO meeting had an increase in evening news airtime from 10 minutes and 40 seconds on the first day of the meeting to 17 minutes on the first day of violence. In addition, WTO coverage was the lead or second story on [[CNN]], [[ABC News (United States)|ABC]], [[CBS News|CBS]], and [[NBC News|NBC]] after violence was reported. Two days after the start of violence, the meeting remained the top story on three of the four networks. 

Though these numbers alone are telling, the media coverage of subsequent demonstrations that did not include violence by protesters shows even more the effect of violence on coverage. For example, the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (WB/[[IMF]]) meetings in the spring showed a "coverage pattern that was almost the reverse of that in Seattle" and that "suggests the crucial role of violence in garnering time on the public screen." In an even more striking example of the effects of violence on media coverage, the 2001 WTO meeting in Doha, Qatar, included no reports of violence. As a result, "there was absolutely no TV evening news coverage by the four major networks."{{sfn|DeLuca|Peeples|2002}}

This coverage did not center exclusively on the violence. Instead, details of the protesters' message and antiglobalization campaign were included along with the discussions of symbolic violence taking place. It is said that the violence served as a dense surface that opened viewers' and readers' minds to a whole new way of thinking about globalization and corporations' operations. That is, not only was this violence contained within the familiar setting of television, and not only did it meet the criteria of being dramatic and emotional enough to warrant air time, but it also shattered preconceived notions of globalization and the practices of corporations that drive so much of America's economy.{{sfn|DeLuca|Peeples|2002}}

==Aftermath==
To many in North American anarchist and radical circles, the Seattle WTO riots, protests, and demonstrations were viewed as a success.<ref>[http://www.indypendent.org/2011/12/05/seattle-wto-shutdown-99-to-occupy/ ''Seattle WTO Shutdown ’99 to Occupy: Organizing to Win 12 Years Later''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810073644/http://www.indypendent.org/2011/12/05/seattle-wto-shutdown-99-to-occupy/ |date=August 10, 2012 }}, DAVID SOLNIT, ''The Indypendant'', Jul 26 – September 4, 2012.</ref>  Prior to the "Battle of Seattle", almost no mention was made of "antiglobalization" in the US media, while the protests were seen as having forced the media to report on 'why' anybody would oppose the WTO.<ref>Owens, Lynn, and Palmer, L. Kendall: ''Making the News: Anarchist Counter Public Relations on the World Wide Web'', p. 9.<br />They state that "[t]he protests in Seattle brought attention not only to the WTO and its policies, but also to the widespread organized opposition to those policies."</ref>

Previous mass demonstrations had taken place in Australia in December 1997, in which newly formed grass-roots organizations blockaded Melbourne, [[Perth]], Sydney, and [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] city centers.<ref>''Seattle Explosion: 2 Years Too Late'', Rhoderick Gates, ''Our Time'', November 30, 1999.</ref>

Controversy over the city's response to the protests resulted in the resignation of the police chief of Seattle, [[Norm Stamper]],<ref>Kimberly A.C. Wilson, [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/cops071.shtml Embattled police chief resigns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120085930/http://www.seattlepi.com/local/cops071.shtml |date=November 20, 2008 }}, ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', December 7, 1999. Accessed online May 19, 2008.</ref> and arguably played a role in Schell's loss to [[Greg Nickels]] in the 2001 mayoral primary election.<ref>[[Dan Savage]], [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=2736 Paul is Dead: Norm's Resignation Ain't Gonna Save Schell's Butt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814002608/http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=2736 |date=August 14, 2009 }}, ''The Stranger'', issue of December 9–15, 1999. Accessed online May 19, 2008.</ref><ref>Rick Anderson, [http://www.seattleweekly.com/2004-11-24/news/whatever-happened-to-hippie-bitch-forman.php Whatever Happened to 'Hippie Bitch' Forman?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804155821/http://www.seattleweekly.com/2004-11-24/news/whatever-happened-to-hippie-bitch-forman.php |date=August 4, 2009 }}, ''Seattle Weekly'', November 24, 2004. Accessed online May 19, 2008.</ref> The massive size of the protest added $3&nbsp;million to the city's estimated meeting budget of $6&nbsp;million, partly due to city cleanup and police overtime bills. In addition, the damage to commercial businesses from [[vandalism]] and lost sales has been estimated at $20&nbsp;million.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/wto-protests-hit-seattle-in-the-pocketbook-1.245428 WTO protests hit Seattle in the pocketbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214070914/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/wto-protests-hit-seattle-in-the-pocketbook-1.245428 |date=December 14, 2019 }}, [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC News]], January 6, 2000</ref>

On January 16, 2004, the city of Seattle settled with 157 individuals arrested outside of the no-protest zone during the WTO events, agreeing to pay them a total of $250,000.<ref>[https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20040117/wto17m/city-to-pay-protesters-250000-to-settle-wto-suit ''City to pay protesters $250,000 to settle WTO suit'']  Seattle Times, January 17, 2004</ref> On January 30, 2007, a federal jury found that the city had violated protesters' [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]] [[constitutional rights]] by arresting them without [[probable cause]] or evidence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070130/D8MVTIIG0.html|title=MyWay|website=apnews.myway.com|access-date=January 31, 2007|archive-date=February 24, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224044322/http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070130/D8MVTIIG0.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/301732_wto30ww.html|author=Colin McDonald|title=Jury says Seattle violated WTO protesters' rights|date=January 30, 2007|publisher=Seattle Post Intelligencer|access-date=December 27, 2007|archive-date=February 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221185013/https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Jury-says-Seattle-violated-WTO-protesters-rights-1226824.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

Inspired by these protests, a similar one occurred in [[Anti-globalization protests in Prague|Prague]] in September 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} EUROPE {{!}} Prague IMF summit ends early |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/944341.stm |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Around 12,000 activists gathered to protest during the [[International Monetary Fund]] and [[World Bank]] summit on September 27, 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ČTK |date=2000-12-10 |title=Anarchisté demonstrovali proti zásahu policie při MMF |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/anarchiste-demonstrovali-proti-zasahu-policie-pri-mmf.A001210_155947_praha_lin |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=iDNES.cz |language=cs}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1988 IMF/World Bank protests]], anti-globalization precursor protest a decade earlier in West Berlin
* [[27th G8 summit]], a 2001 summit that resulted in anti-globalization protests and similar controversies about police and government response
* ''[[Battle in Seattle]]'', a 2007 film loosely based on the protests.
* [[Electrohippies]], an international group of internet activists involved in action against the WTO
* [[List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States]]
* [[Multilateral Agreement on Investment]], a draft agreement that failed in 1998 
* ''[[Showdown in Seattle]]'', a 1999 documentary film about the protests
* ''[[30 Frames a Second: The WTO in Seattle 2000]]'', a 2000 documentary shot during the protests
* [[Via Campesina]], an international movement of peasants' organizations
* [[Anti-globalization protests in Prague]], anti-capitalist protest in Prague (2000)

== References ==
=== Footnotes ===

{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=DeLuca |first1=Kevin Michael |last2=Peeples |first2=Jennifer |title=From Public Sphere to Public Screen: Democracy, Activism, and the 'Violence' of Seattle |journal=Critical Studies in Media Communication |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=125–151 |date=June 2002 |doi=10.1080/07393180216559 |s2cid=19438793 |issn=1529-5036 }}

{{refend}}

== Further reading ==

{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Paul |title=No Globalization Without Representation: U.S. Activists and World Inequality |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-8122-5317-7 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cockburn |first1=Alexander |last2=St. Clair |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Sekula |first3=Allan |title=Five Days That Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond |date=2000 |language=English |isbn=978-1-85984-779-4 |publisher=Verso |location=London; New York |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite book |last1=De Armond |first1=Paul |editor1-last=Arquilla |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Ronfeldt |editor2-first=David |chapter=Netwar in the Emerald City: WTO Protest Strategy and Tactics |title=Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy |pages=201–235 |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-8330-3030-6 |publisher=Rand |location=Santa Monica |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cL_3CsUvxMMC&pg=PA201 |df=mdy-all |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321152602/https://books.google.com/books?id=cL_3CsUvxMMC&pg=PA201 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Gibson |first=D.&nbsp;W. |title=One Week to Change the World: An Oral History of the 1999 WTO Protests |date=2024 |language=English |isbn=978-1797177311 |publisher=Simon & Schuster}}
* {{Cite web |last1=Goodman |first1=Amy |last2=Gonzalez |first2=Juan |title=The Battle of Seattle 10 Years Later: Organizers Reflect on 1999 Shutdown of WTO Talks and the Birth of a Movement |work=[[Democracy Now!]] |date=2009-11-30 |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/30/the_battle_of_seattle_10_years |access-date=2017-09-05 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=December 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204130756/http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/30/the_battle_of_seattle_10_years |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Khagram |editor1-first=Sanjeev |editor2-last=Riker |editor2-first=James V. |editor3-last=Sikkink |editor3-first=Kathryn |chapter=From Santiago to Seattle: Transnational Advocacy Groups Restructuring World Politics |title=Restructuring World Politics: Transnational Social Movements, Networks, and Norms |pages=3–23 |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-8166-3906-9 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |series=Social Movements, Protest, and Contention 14 |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Levi |first1=Margaret |last2=Murphy |first2=Gillian H. |title=Coalitions of Contention: The Case of the WTO Protests in Seattle |journal=[[Political Studies (journal)|Political Studies]] |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=651–670 |date=December 2006 |language=en |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00629.x |s2cid=143299140 |issn=0032-3217 |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Noakes |first1=John |last2=Gillham |first2=Patrick |title=Police and Protester Innovation Since Seattle |journal=Mobilization: An International Quarterly |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=335–340 |date=December 2007 |doi=10.17813/maiq.12.4.hk88jk1mw3036302 |issn=1086-671X |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite web |last1=Parrish |first1=Geov |title=The New Anarchists |work=Seattle Weekly |date=2006-10-09 |url=http://archive.seattleweekly.com/1999-09-01/news/the-new-anarchists/ |access-date=2017-09-05 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905094837/http://archive.seattleweekly.com/1999-09-01/news/the-new-anarchists/ |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Peck |first1=John E. |title=The Prefiguration of Seattle: A Battle Many Years in the Making |journal=Socialism and Democracy |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=66–85 |date=2020-01-02 |doi=10.1080/08854300.2020.1763067 |s2cid=219504918 |issn=0885-4300 }}
* {{Cite news |last1=Sharp |first1=Rob |title=Charlize now faces her own battle of Seattle |work=[[The Observer]] |date=2006-09-03 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/03/film.wto |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712 |df=mdy-all |access-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119000008/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/03/film.wto |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Jackie |title=Globalizing Resistance: The Battle of Seattle and the Future of Social Movements |journal=Mobilization: An International Quarterly |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |date=2001 |doi=10.17813/maiq.6.1.y63133434t8vq608 |issn=1086-671X |url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/20593/1/Battle_in_Seattle_Smith_Mobilization_2000.pdf |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Solnit |first1=David |last2=Solnit |first2=Rebecca |title=The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle |date=2009 |isbn=978-1-904859-63-5 |publisher=AK Press |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Janet |title=The Battle in Seattle: The Story Behind and Beyond the Wto Demonstrations |date=2000 |language=English |isbn=978-1-55591-108-9 |publisher=Fulcrum Pub. |location=Golden, Colo. |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Lesley |title=Breaking the Wave: Repression, Identity, and Seattle Tactics |journal=Mobilization: An International Quarterly |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=377–388 |date=2007 |doi=10.17813/maiq.12.4.a38x78203j3502q0 |issn=1086-671X |df=mdy-all }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Wood |first1=Lesley J. |author1-mask={{long dash}} |title=Direct Action, Deliberation, and Diffusion: Collective Action After the Wto Protests in Seattle |date=2012 |language=English |isbn=978-1-107-02071-9 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |df=mdy-all }}
{{refend}}

* [[Sunil Yapa]]'s debut novel, '''Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist'' (2016) is a fictional account of a young man who gets involved in Seattle WTO protests.

==External links==

{{Commons category|Protests against the 1999 World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference}}
* [http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/index.htm University of Washington WTO History Project], interviews and documentation of the protest
* [http://wtoprotests.littlelight.info/ Raw video footage] of the protests, organized by day and street intersection
* [http://www.albionmonitor.com/seattlewto/index.html Storming Seattle] by Paul De Armond, an account of the protest in multiple parts
*The [http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv08728/op=fstyle.aspx?t=k&q=WAUWTO1999SeattleProtest5177.xml World Trade Organization 1999 Seattle Ministerial Conference Protest collection, 1993–2011]. 45.63 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections. Also see [http://content.lib.washington.edu/wtoweb/index.html digital collections].

{{Anti-globalization}}
{{Anarchism}}
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