Bellevue criminalizes “protest gatherings of more than 3 people” outside private residences to stop protesters bothering Adam Smith

Last Tuesday night, Bellevue City Council passed Ordinance 6917, the text of which prohibits 3 or more protesters from gathering outside a private residence (with or without making noise). This is universally understood to be aimed at stopping protesters from gathering outside Adam Smith’s house to protest his support of Israel’s attack on Gaza, as well as other wars.

During public comment before the vote, some of Smith’s neighbors said that they had heard noise at night. Joseph Ostheller, an organizer with Seattle Against War, said that his group only protested during the day and within legal noise limits (and if that wasn’t the case, they could already be arrested for violating the noise ordinance without the need for a new law). Regardless, the law passed 6-1.