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Contents this page were published in the July/August, 1998 edition of the Washington Free Press.
WFP, 1463 E. Republican #178, Seattle, WA -USA, 98112. -- WAfreepress@gmail.com
Copyright © 1998 WFP Collective, Inc.
"Every person who shall print, publish, edit, issue or knowingly circulate, sell, distribute or publicly display any book, paper document, or written or printed matter in any form, containing or advocating, advising or teaching the doctrine that organized government should be overthrown by force, violence or any unlawful means shall be punished by imprisonment in a state correctional facility for not more than ten years or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or by both."
-excerpt from Revised Code of Washington 9.05.020, The "Anarchy and Sabotage Statute."
Occasionally while rummaging through an antique store you might find an interesting pamphlet or advertisement in an old magazine that demonstrates how far we have come in our society when it comes to politics or race or sex. But it seems unusual to find such an artifact enshrined in the laws that govern our state. But even though the editors of the Free Press probably don't have to worry about getting measured for a prison uniform, some environmental protesters from the Rainforest Action Network can attest that the above antiquated law, written to discourage union organizing 70 years ago, can still be used with chilling effectiveness.
In November of 1996 seven protesters shackled themselves to a ship in the Port of Longview called the Super Ruben. They attached banners to the side of the ship that said, among other things, "Don't export our jobs/logs." It was a standard non-violent Greenpeace style protest, says Dan Abbot, one of the Super Ruben Seven. After a few hours the sheriff showed up, cut off the locks and charged us with a violation of the Anarchy and Sabotage act. Abbot and his fellow protesters spent the next four days in jail and then went to trial where their attorneys unsuccessfully tried to get the charges thrown out. The protestors were convicted of a felony. Usually such acts of civil disobedience are only a misdemeanor.
"Everyone who is convicted of a felony wishes it was only a misdemeanor," says Ed Norton, the Cowlitz County prosecutor who made the case against the protesters. Advocates for the protesters argue that this charge was used to set an example and have a chilling effect on free speech.
Jess Grant, organizer of CRASS, the Coalition to Repeal the Anarchy and Sabotage Statute, says that the law was originally put on the books as an attack against the Industrial Workers of the World, nicknamed the Wobblies. The Wobblies inspired 24 state legislatures to pass similar laws against anarchy and sabotage. During the years leading up to World War I, especially here in Washington state, there was increasing labor activity, says Grant. In 1917 the IWW was able to organize a very effective strike of timberworkers, prompting the federal government to send in replacement workers under the command of an army colonel.
Grant says that what made the Wobblies so scary to management was their focus on unusual tactics as opposed to mainstream politics. The workers realized that if they went on strike they could be replaced, so it would be much more effective to engage in slowdowns rather than strikes. The timber industry was concerned because these tactics were effective. So the legislature made it illegal for anyone to interfere with timber production and made it a felony.
The other part of the law is aimed at assemblages of anarchists and the displays of seditious and anarchistic groups. Arthur Miller, a shipyard worker from Tacoma, is an anarchist helping to organize the repeal of the statute. He says that anarchism is a misunderstood political philosophy. Anarchy is the natural order of existence, which is not chaos at all. "What is chaos is the malfunctioning of the state as it enters into crisis," says Miller.
The strategy of the repeal effort is to draw attention to the absurdity and unenforcabilty of the law. In May CRASS organized a rally in Olympia to draw attention to their effort. After the rally, attended by about 75 people, the crowd assembled behind a "Smash the State" banner and marched down to the headquarters of the State Patrol to turn themselves in for a violation of the statute. "It's a beautiful day to commit a felony," one rally goer said. When the rag-tag group arrived several protesters went into the office with a copy of the statute to explain the law they were violating.
The officers seemed genuinely perplexed. After a conference and a few phone calls an officer emerged to say that there wouldn't be any arrests today. He then thanked Grant for bringing the law to their attention. "We've never seen this law before, I hope you'll keep us informed about your efforts to get it repealed."
"Does that mean we can count on your support?" asked Grant. The officer smiled and said, "We'll see." The crowd assembled outside the office cheered. The next stop is the State Senate and Pam Roach's Law and Justice Committee, where there has been no shortage lately of particularly bad grace.
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