City: Permitless Pro-Palestine Protests in Seattle Are Protected by First Amendment

Pro-Palestine rallies have occurred in downtown Seattle for the last few weekends, but despite complications they may cause with traffic, the protests fall under First Amendment rights, according to city officials. Since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas on Israel that claimed the lives of some 1,200 people and resulted in more than 200 people being taken hostage and Israel’s retaliation in Gaza, hundreds of Seattleites have gathered in the downtown area to call for a ceasefire and chanted, “Free Palestine!”