Governor Locke offers to send National Guard troops to Seattle to augment police during World Trade Organization (WTO) demonstrations on November 26, 1999.

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On November 26, 1999, Washington Governor Gary Locke (b. 1950) offers to send National Guard troops to Seattle to augment Seattle police during expected demonstrations protesting the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will meet in Seattle from November 29 to December 3. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno offers the help of federal law enforcement officers.

Newspapers reported that Mayor Paul Schell (b. 1937) declined both proposals. Schell later disputed these accounts. "I doubt we would have turned down help from anybody," he said.

Sources:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 4, 1999, pp. A-1, A-8.

By David Wilma, March 15, 2000

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WTO protests, 7th Avenue and Pike Street, Seattle, Monday, November 29, 1999
Courtesy HistoryLink.org

Protestors on buses in front of Paramount Theatre, Seattle, November 30, 1999
Photo by Julie Fisher, Courtesy UW Special Collections