4 AM Count! Noise Action to Stop the Youth Jail in King County

The following report comes from King County in Washington and details an action against the construction of a youth jail.

On a recent weekday morning we visited the quiet West Seattle dead-end of SW Prince St. Armed with a healthy stack of quarter-sheets, bullhorns, and a block rocker, we wanted to demonstrate one thing: taking action to stop the new Youth Jail is as simple as gathering a few friends and some determination.

After all, Prince St is no mere suburban corner of the city; 5055 Prince is owned by none other than Dow Constantine, the King County Executive who lords over the project while making half-assed proclamations of his dreams to end incarceration.

After blanketing the block with flyers, we made sure the neighbors experienced what a “4AM Count” will feel like in Dow’s shiny new kiddie prison (and already feels like in the current monstrosity). We then drove slowly away, leaving them to the blaring verses of Dead Prez.

As the imposing, fortress-like new jail continues to be built in the Central District, we hope others will follow in our stead. We applaud the actions of more mainstream folks finally turning to direct action, but if we want to stop this thing from being built it will take a true diversity of tactics.

Make those who would put a kid in a cage feel a little taste of it. Let no worker even get on the site. Throw a wrench in the machines they need to raise the walls. Stop the Youth Jail by any means necessary!

Signed,

Anti-Constantine Action Brigade