By Sara Gentzler

The Olympian

At least two people were arrested for suspected assault in downtown Olympia after what police are characterizing as a “highly aggressive mob” broke windows, tagged buildings with graffiti, and set dumpsters on fire Friday night.

Olympia police responded to a disturbance near a downtown business about 9:30 p.m. Friday, Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian. The person who reported the disturbance said there were about 40 people there and that protesters had gotten physical with the business’s owner, Lower said. Dispatch reported hearing screaming and glass being broken in the background of the call.

The business owner later told police he approached the group after witnessing a dumpster set on fire near his business and seeing them break windows and tag buildings, Lower said. He reported confronting the group, Lower said, and that a man dressed in all black struck him in the face with something and another man screamed at him.

The alleged assault has been forwarded to OPD’s detective division, Lower said, and the department will pull video from area businesses to see if officers can identify a suspect.

An officer arrived to find the group dressed in all black walking down Capitol Way South from Fourth Avenue, Lower said. Some in the group had improvised shields, Lower said, and it appeared one or two were carrying what looked like paintball or Airsoft guns.

The officer saw some people from the group break windows, Lower said, and in all, about three dumpsters along Fourth Avenue were reportedly moved and set on fire.

Officers began leaving other calls to assemble downtown, Lower said. Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol also helped with crowd control, and Lower said it’s likely Tumwater and Lacey police departments helped cover Olympia 911 calls.

At Eighth Avenue Southeast and Adams Street, officers gave dispersal orders, Lower said, and “engaged the mob.” Lower has previously told The Olympian he uses the word “mob”when a group of people is “bent on destroying property” rapidly, as its sole purpose.

The crowd was aggressive while engaging with officers for a bit, Lower said, but ultimately dispersed at that intersection, running to alleyways, changing their clothes, and returning to small groups in Olympia’s downtown core.

Officers used blast balls and pepper balls, Lower said, but not tear gas, to disperse the crowd.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting officers during the dispersal, Lower said. One allegedly kicked an officer and another allegedly struck an officer with a bottle. No officers were seriously injured.

A third person was arrested on suspicion of malicious mischief.

Lower did not provide the names of the people arrested. However, a report of people booked into Thurston County jail Friday night includes two men, one age 20 and the other age 21, who were booked on suspicion of third-degree assault and failure to disperse in that area.

Officers kept a high profile the rest of the night and began collecting information about damage done, Lower said.

Windows at multiple businesses along the route the group walked were broken, Lower said. As of Saturday morning, officers were still assessing the damage.