Protesters take to Seattle streets Thursday to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day.
About 50 people protesting “corporate greed” marched Thursday from Westlake Park, around downtown and to South Lake Union.
Some of the protesters waved signs that read “Eat the rich” while others decried the so-called “one-percenters.” About half wore Guy Fawkes masks.
Several dozen bicycle officers rode alongside the protesters, who marched to the federal building in downtown Seattle and then Seattle police headquarters before heading to South Lake Union.
West Precinct Capt. Chris Fowler said some 600 people were signed up to join the protest, timed to coincide with Guy Fawkes Day, marking the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
However, police expected the number to be significantly smaller.
As the protest wound down, Fowler said that despite some traffic delays as protesters marched in the middle of the streets, there was only one arrest. A man armed with a machete was arrested at the end of the protest as the group returned to Westlake Park, Fowler said.
The march prompted Amazon to warn employees that they could be targeted by protesters.
“Please remember to not wear anything that has Amazon logos and keep your badges covered or put away and out of site [sight],” an internal Amazon memo read.
Marchers walked by the Amazon buildings as employees watched from inside, many filming the protest.
Three of the protesters who gathered earlier in the day at Westlake Park told a reporter they had purchased their Guy Fawkes masks online by using the Amazon Prime membership of a parent.
“We’re here for the movement,” said one of the protesters, who declined to give her name. ”We’re part of the 99 percent against the 1 percent.”