Washington state troopers stood by as about 3,000 people demonstrated peacefully during the first day of the special legislative session in Olympia Monday, arresting four of them, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The number demonstrators peaked at any one time at about 2,000.

Thirty protestors also received trespass warnings for refusing to leave the Capitol building after closing hours. They will not be allowed to be on any Capitol Campus property for the next 30 days.

“We saw a large number of people come to the Capitol and demonstrate peacefully,” said Lt. Mark Arras, the WSP incident commander. “We’re disappointed that it was necessary to arrest a small group that arrived fully intending to cause a disturbance.”

The first arrest was made as a small group disrupted a hearing by the Ways and Means Committee in the Cherberg building. Jesse D. Hagopian, 32, of Seattle was arrested for disorderly conduct and booked into the Thurston County Jail.

As the Capitol building was being closed for the day, a group of troopers was rushed by demonstrators. Troopers who could not retreat used a TASER on three individuals to move them back. No arrests were made in that incident. The trooper removed the cartridge containing barbs from his TASER and momentarily touched the unit’s contacts to three people. This provides a short duration shock, not the full five seconds associated with a normal TASER deployment, according to the State Patrol news release.

In a similar incident a few minutes later at another location, a State Patrol sergeant received a bite wound to his arm, and an employee of the Department of Enterprise Services received a rib injury. Both were treated by medics from the Olympia Fire Department and returned to duty.

Arrested in that incident were:

 

• A male whose identity has not yet been verified for obstructing officers, resisting arrest, felony assault.
• 26-year-old-old Kellen Linnell of Lynnwood for felony assault, failure to disperse, obstructing officers and resisting arrest.
• 24-year-old-Zachary Payment of Graham for both misdemeanor and felony assault, failure to disperse, obstructing officers and resisting arrest.

 All three were arrested for investigation of felony assault on troopers and failure to disperse. Later, 30 people were issued trespass warnings after refusing a lawful order to disperse. The Capitol building routinely closes at 5:30 p.m. Three orders to disperse were provided before troopers carried them out.