Seattle cops find machete, mortar, hatchet, spike strips, shields in tent at public park during protest-related cleanup

Seattle police officers found various weapons as well as homemade spike strips and dozens of makeshift shields in a tent at a public park Tuesday morning, police said.

What are the details?

Police said they were providing security during a Seattle Parks Department cleanup at Cal Anderson Park where workers were set to repair a damaged field house and pick up trash that had been piling up since the park's closure June 30.

The damage and subsequent repairs were related to ongoing protests, the Seattle Times said.

A camper packs up belongings while preparing to leave Cal Anderson Park in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone on June 30, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. City crews removed barriers at one entrance to the CHOP and placed park closure notices throughout Cal Anderson Park.Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images

But when workers with the parks department were cleaning out a tent in the area, police said they found what they believed were weapons.

So officers obtained a warrant to search the tent and recovered a machete, hatchet, homemade spike strips, an unexploded mortar, and multiple makeshift shields, police said.

Image source: Seattle police

Image source: Seattle police

Officers removed the items from the tent and placed them into evidence, police said, adding that no arrests have been made although an investigation is ongoing.

Protest hub

The park has been a hub for some protesters, the Times noted, adding that in recent weeks a camp grew in the park where protesters gathered for marches, handed out goggles and helmets, and occupied a previously locked and boarded-up city rental facility to distribute food to people living in the park.

Not the kindest of welcomes

A video was posted to YouTube showing officers gathered at the park while several people — presumably protesters — went verbally ballistic on the cops for their presence amid the park cleanup.

"Are you a white supremacist?" one man yells at the officers.

"That's a registered f***ing hate symbol recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center!" a woman screams at one cop. "You're a f***ing white supremacist, you piece of s**t! I hope you die tonight, b***h!"

The woman can be heard calling another officer a "f***ing coon" and declares, "I'm taking your job, b***h!"

(Content warning: Language:)

Unhinged citizens goes completely off the rails in Cal Anderson Park, screaming & threatening SPDyoutu.be