The Divest Digest: July 1, 2026
In this issue: Cop Surge On 12th & Jackson, J6 Cop Plays the Victim Card, Detrans Chuds BTFO, Charlie Harger Learns There Is No Santa Clause
Unhinged Detransitioners Chased Out of Pride
On Saturday afternoon, during the Pride celebration, a group of about 50 people confronted a pair of right-wing detransitioners who were accompanied by a grab bag of chud streamers, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle blog. The two had been lurking around Cal Anderson Park all week, antagonizing trans people for content, and things finally came to a head over the weekend. A man approached and struck the streamers’ cameras with a baseball bat, then ran away. Seattle police fired a foam-tipped round at him, and he surrendered. One of the detransitioners, Hendrix Moise, is a Michigan-based lawyer who built her practice helping trans people change their legal names before she did a heel turn, became rabidly anti-trans, and started making posts about “trans genocide.”
Mayor Wilson Tries ‘New’ Crime Strategy on 12th and Jackson
Mayor Katie Wilson announced a “new approach to crime” at 12th and Jackson. It’s hard to tell what exactly is “new” about it. The plan calls for an increased police presence, which is nearly indiscernible from the emphasis patrols under Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Downtown Activation Plan. These expensive operations nabbed a few small-time drug dealers (mostly users selling to support their habits) and didn’t disrupt drug activity on the corner. Supposedly, the “new” part will be $1.1 million in one-time funding for a suite of support services, including overdose prevention and outreach. However, that much money doesn’t buy a lot in this city.
Wilson’s announcement included right-wing talking points too—phrases like “open-air drug sale,” which you hear constantly from KOMO news types While Wilson’s announcement about the expansion of police presence did concede that “we know we can’t arrest our way out of these problems”, back in April, the Public Safety Committee heard updates on the LEAD diversion program, where it was noted that pre-arrest diversions were down 41 percent in the last two years, while arrests were up 47 percent. SPD’s Chief Operating Officer Sarah Smith claimed that it was due to staffing and that more cops will mean more diversions (so... by magic?). Bookmark this for when their next diversion numbers don’t magically improve and actually get worse.
Overtime Spending Is Too Damn High
Cut to the most recent Public Safety Committee Meeting. SPD gave a presentation on sworn staffing and massive Q1 overtime spending (which pays for these “emphasis patrols” among other things), saying they will need $1.7M in additional funding, or they “may have to slow hiring to stay within their budget.” This presentation was also bookended by concerning discussions of potential satellite precinct(s) in the north end, because burning half a billion dollars on SPD isn’t enough already. But wow, a whole million dollars on supportive services!
J6 Cop Got 18 Months Paid Vacation, Insists He Was a “Victim”
Seattle Police Officer Jason Marchione, one of six SPD officers who attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally in 2021, is suing the City of Seattle. Marchione alleges that the Office of Police Accountability targeted him for his political beliefs. He ran into a parked car in Bellevue and made false statements about the collision before he knew that Bellevue police had video of the incident. Marchione got nearly 18 months paid vacation while the case dragged on, and was only suspended for 30 days, so he came out way ahead. Not to mention, he got to keep his job. The OPA initially sustained dishonesty findings, which is an automatic termination. Evergreen reminder that SPD had more cops in attendance at J6 than any other, including at least three former officers. All six officers were (officially) named last year after a judge lifted the injunction. Of course, DivestSPD had them figured out in 2021. No big deal.
BREAKING: Right-wing Media Shocked That Cops Lie
Earlier this month, SPD, along with the feds, engaged in security theater under the guise of “outreach” along Aurora. In their subsequent blotter post, SPD boasted about six arrests. However, five of those were “misattributed” and actually took place at an operation in West Seattle. KIRO radio host and police stenographer Charlie Harger was shocked to learn SPD’s narrative that they had published without question—as they always do—turned out to be false. With all the gravitas of a very serious radio hack, Harger said, “there’s no soft way to say this: Seattle Police gave the public information that wasn’t true, and every media outlet that trusted them repeated it on their behalf.” The SPD blotter has now been updated to include a correction. Unsurprisingly, Harger is already back to dutifully repeating “organized retail theft” crime panic narratives and other copaganda. That brief moment of clarity didn’t stick, it seems.
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