The Divest Digest. June 17, 2026
In this issue: Armed officers do 'outreach' on Aurora, too many cops at the Cup, and Sara Nelson lost her seat but at least she got her kiosk, finally.
Aurora ‘Outreach’ by Cops Flops
FBI and SPD were out harassing sex workers on Aurora this weekend, and they had the nerve to call it “outreach.” In reality, the move was security theater meant to reassure residents and placate right-wing pressure groups like Change Washington. Seizing on the outrage over an outbreak of gunfire around Aurora in May, conservative think tanks and media outlets have fomented a moral panic about a "pimp turf war." However, violent crime continues to trend downward citywide. And in the sector containing Aurora, official crime data shows a 17 percent year-on-year drop in shots fired in the first half of 2026. On Monday, the Mayor's office put out a press release touting the outreach operation's supposed success. Over the entire weekend, there were 13 referrals to services and six felony arrests. That's not a huge public safety return, given the massive amount of resources deployed, including over 20 social workers, joined by nearly twice as many cops and federal agents.
The Cop Cup
The World Cup is here, and with it comes a staggering amount of regional and federal cops, equipped with various new gadgets purchased through FIFA-related grants. Most of these tools will stick around after the games have ended—not just in host cities like Seattle, but cities with “fan zones” like Bremerton and Spokane, too. SPD is getting $2 million from the Department of Homeland Security and Washington Military funds “to increase capacity to identify and mitigate drones.” It’s unclear what that entails, given that the City Council claims “no equipment is involved in the grant.“ That’s on top of $8.5 million in other FIFA grants. The King County Sheriff’s Office got three counter-drone trailers, and the Renton Police got one as well (approved in a package deal with AI translation-equipped bodycams from Axon. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is loaning its helicopter to Seattle. You’ll likely see some unfamiliar agencies patrolling Seattle, including motorcycle cops from Kennewick as well as personnel from the Washington State Patrol, FBI, US Marshals, Secret Service, the Coast Guard, and National Guard. More than 50 agencies and city departments will be under the command of the city’s Office of Emergency Management. The presence of ICE as well as this massive deployment of their local and federal collaborators, is understandably stoking fear in marginalized communities. Spread info and, not panic, and stay safe out there!
Smile! You’re on Kiosk Cameras
The first of the Downtown Seattle Association’s digital billboard kiosks was installed last week. You know the Seattle City Council couldn’t pass up the opportunity to expand surveillance, so each is equipped with a camera— ostensibly for selfies. When it approved these kiosks in 2025, the Council rejected an amendment that would have foregone this feature on these light-polluting IRL popup ads. As reported by The Burner, the IKE Smart City camera data is kept by the company “for up to 15 days and sometimes even longer when ‘necessary to investigate an incident.’” And these didn’t go through a surveillance impact report (SIR) process either because it’s for selfies, silly! Meanwhile, all that ad revenue is likely to fund SPD’s ever-growing overtime budget for downtown “emphasis patrols” against visible poverty.
Shady Katie’s About Face
Just days after Councilmember Rob Saka gave a 12-minute speech dressed in his Boston Marathon tracksuit and Councilmember Bob Kettle sent an angry letter, Mayor Katie Wilson announced she would reactivate stadium cameras, citing “general but credible threats” from the FBI. Wilson claims the cameras will “go offline” again after the games, which is about as believable as the statements she made during the campaign opposing surveillance expansion.
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