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Washington

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Washington.

404Documented
2In custody
321Released
2Awaiting trial

Eras of repression in Washington

Where Washington’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

1910s 155 1970s 38 2000s 28 1960s 28 2020s 25 1980s 25

Recent dashboard entries from Washington

The newest published events and reporting located in Washington, updated automatically from the live dashboard.

Other

Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home

Washington, D.C. · Associated Press
Other

White House excludes Politico from Air Force One press pool

Washington, D.C. · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Protest

Pro-Data Center Party Interrupted by Protesters in DC

PubKey, Washington, DC · Newsweek
Other

White House excludes CNN from Air Force One press pool for presidential trips

Washington, DC · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Protest

Thousands join protest outside Kennedy Center, expressing concern that Trump might tear it down

Kennedy Center, Washington, DC · PBS NewsHour
Other

CNN, MS NOW and Politico barred from White House access; outlets challenge the ban

White House, Washington, DC · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Protest

Protesters hit Hagerstown to protest major data center proposed for city

Washington County Commissioners, Hagerstown, MD · LocalNews1
Arrest

He brought a guillotine to D.C. He didn’t expect to get arrested.

U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court, Washington, DC · The Washington Post
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Documented cases

404 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

Leah-Lynn Plante
Released
Leah-Lynn Plante was subpoenaed before the same federal grand jury that jailed Duran and Olejnik; she briefly...
James Powers
Released
James Powers was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and c...
Thalia Marie Ramirez
Released
Thalia Marie Ramirez was one of nine people federally arrested on July 15, 2025 over the June 11 protest that...
John Rawlings
Released
John Rawlings was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
Michael Steven Reed
Michael Steven Reed was one of three defendants jailed in the 1970 Seattle post-office bombing prosecution. Th...
Ellen Reiche
Released
Ellen Reiche is a Bellingham, Washington environmental and Indigenous solidarity activist convicted for placin...
Loren Roberts
Released
Loren Roberts was an IWW defendant in the 1920 Centralia trial. His disposition involved an insanity finding,...
John Ross
Released
John Ross was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and char...
Rik Scarce
Released
James Richard Scarce, known as Rik Scarce, is a sociologist and author who was jailed for civil contempt in 19...
Karol Schulkin
Released
Early Ground Zero member arrested with Shelley Douglass and Mary Grondin walking the warhead rail line into Ba...
Frank Shaffer
Released
Frank Shaffer was from Everett, Washington. Frank Shaffer was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and...
William Shay
Released
William Shay was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and c...
Mike Sheehan
Mike Sheehan was an Irish-born union worker and IWW member jailed after the November 11, 1919 Centralia violen...
Don Sheridan
Released
Don Sheridan was a plumber and the secretary of the Agricultural Workers Industrial Union, Local 400, in Spoka...
John Sherman
Released
John Sherman met Ed Mead at McNeil Island federal prison in the late 1960s and later joined the George Jackson...
Albert Shreve
Released
Albert Shreve was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
Lawrence Simpson
Released
Lawrence B. Simpson was an American seaman arrested aboard the Manhattan at Hamburg on June 28, 1935, after Ge...
Britt Smith
Released
Britt Smith was one of the eight IWW defendants tried at Montesano (Grays Harbor County), WA from January 26 t...
Elmer Smith
Released
Elmer Smith was a Centralia, WA attorney and the IWW's local defense lawyer. After the Armistice Day 1919 raid...
Walker C. Smith
Released
Walker C. Smith was an IWW propagandist, writer and editor of the Spokane-based Industrial Worker from about F...
David Sohappy
Released
David Sohappy Sr., known as Tucknashut, was a Wanapum and Yakama fisherman and religious leader who became a c...
H. Sokol
Released
H. Sokol was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and charg...
Susan Stern
Released
Susan Stern was an antiwar activist and one of the Seattle Seven. During the December 14, 1970 contempt procee...
D. Stevens
Released
D. Stevens was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and cha...

Institutions in Washington

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Washington that appear in the census’s case files.

Snohomish County JailEverett, Washington
75 cases
McNeil Island Federal PenitentiarySteilacoom, Washington
67 cases
USP McNeil IslandSteilacoom, Washington
43 cases
Washington State PenitentiaryWalla Walla, Washington
13 cases
SeaTac Federal Detention CenterSeaTac, Washington
9 cases
Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla / U.S. District Court, W.D. WashingtonWalla Walla, Washington
8 cases
US Forest Service, Sullivan LakeMetaline Falls, Washington
7 cases
Washington State Penitentiary at Walla WallaWalla Walla, Washington
5 cases
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