Man jailed for torching police precinct runs for City Council in Seattle
Jack Birle
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A man who set fire to a police precinct during the weekslong Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone protests in Seattle in June 2020 is running for City Council in Seattle, Washington.
Isaiah Willoughby is running for the City Council seat for the 2nd District. He briefly ran for the seat for the 1st District in 2019, according to the city’s election database.
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The other candidates listed for the 2nd District include Dawn Lucas and incumbent Tammy Morales. The primary election for the City Council is currently scheduled for Aug. 1.
Willoughby pleaded guilty to arson for setting fire to the Seattle Police East Precinct on June 12, 2020. He confessed to pouring gasoline on debris next to the precinct and lighting the debris on fire before fleeing. Prosecutors noted he was wearing “distinct clothing” at the time.
He was sentenced to two years in prison on Oct. 5, 2021. He was released from prison in March 2022, according to the Post Millennial.
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The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, which was also referred to as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, was a multiple-block area in downtown Seattle that was occupied by anti-police protesters. The area was formed in the beginning of June 2020 after police were ordered to abandon the area, but it was disbanded by police on July 1, 2020.
The area was one of the most high-profile and longest-lasting protests during summer 2020 after the death of George Floyd under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020.
The nationwide protests during the final weeks of May and the beginning of June 2020 reportedly cost an estimated $1 billion-$2 billion in damage.