Seattle police detectives have identified the suspect and referred a felony assault charge to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office against the alleged attacker in a brutal assault on an independent journalist covering anti-ICE protests in Seattle.
Cam Higby told The Center Square that Antifa members assaulted him as he attended the June 14 “No Kings Day” protests in Seattle at a Department of Homeland Security building.
“There is probable cause to believe that Assault 2nd Degree (RCW 9A.36.021) occurred,” Sgt. Patrick Michaud of SPD Public Affairs emailed The Center Square. “Detectives referred criminal charges to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).”
In a Wednesday interview, Higby said he is pleased that SPD is recommending charges against 33-year-old Jeremy Lawson of Monroe, but frustrated that it took so long and that the suspect has not been arrested.
“It has to be the slowest criminal justice system in the country,” he said. “If I [were] in my hometown in New York right now and I went and I walked down the street and punched somebody in the face, I’d be in handcuffs that day and facing charges the next day.”
Higby does not blame the Seattle detective assigned to his case for the delay.
“The detective wants to do something about it. He cares about the case, but the problem is the prosecutor,” he explained. “We have everything from this guy, who has a tattoo on his face. And it’s not sufficient evidence, right? We have the Amazon link to the shoes he was wearing during the attack, and I have linked those shoes back to pictures he has posted on Facebook.”
Higby continued: “I don’t know if there could be a more solid case outside of finding his fingerprints on my gas mask, but it’s really not the detective’s fault. It’s just that the detective has clearly been in this position before, where they have somebody dead to rights with irrefutable evidence, and the prosecutor still doesn’t seem to want to prosecute.”
The vicious attack was captured on video by Jonathan Choe, another independent journalist who on Wednesday told The Center Square that he, too, is skeptical the prosecutor will follow through with charges against the suspect.
“Honestly, I’m so cynical. I have very low expectations for anything to happen, especially since, you know, we’ve heard from not only the prosecutor’s office, but also from SPD they’re not going to even charge in these protest cases as we’ve seen unless it’s extremely serious, right? Unless someone gets shot or stabbed. So, you know, we’ll see what happens,” Choe said.
Choe also mentioned that the suspect has not been arrested.
“This guy’s still on the loose, and this happened way more than a week ago,” he said. “I think if it [were] any other context or circumstance, this guy would have been in handcuffs by now.”
Choe noted that he and other journalists who reported on the attack, including the victim, provided everything SPD needed to refer charges, including photos, videos, and the suspect’s name and address, but it took 10 days for the charges to be referred.
“I mean, what is it going to take in this day and age to get criminals off the streets, especially when we do the job for the cops?” Choe asked.
KCPAO Director of Communication Casey McNerthney responded to The Center Square’s email request for information on the case.
“That case referral will be reviewed individually by senior deputy prosecutors in our criminal division, which is the normal procedure for an assault referral such as that,” McNerthney responded via email. “I’m not familiar with what was received, but a senior deputy may request any available video and medical details if those are not yet submitted. I need to note that defendants are innocent until proven guilty in court.”
He added that video and medical records must be sent from the investigating police agency, not obtained from social media.
“In other words, the court won’t accept those if a prosecutor were to get them from an online post,” McNerthney said.
Higby provided those videos and photos to SPD, which he believes should be ample evidence to identify the attacker.
Higby told The Center Square he was grateful Choe stayed with him after the attack and convinced him to leave the area for his safety, even though Higby had called 911 and wanted to wait for police to show up.
“I told him this was not a high-priority case for them, especially when they’re dealing with Antifa militants,” Choe said. “They don’t even have enough time for that. So, I told him, just let me get you out of this place, to a safe place, and we can reassess, and I’m so glad we did because as I was driving him back, he wasn’t feeling well. And lo and behold, the next day, he got a severe bloody nose, and he went to the hospital, and they said he sustained a serious concussion.”
Six days after the attack – June 20 – Higby told The Center Square he was still suffering headaches and blurred vision from the concussion.
He was wearing a helmet, but believes the blows to his head, which left large dents and divots in the helmet, came from SAP gloves, which are weighted knuckle gloves, he said the attacker was wearing.
“It’s very likely that if I [weren’t] wearing a helmet, that I would have been either killed or critical,” Higby said. “They’re just brass knuckles basically.”
McNerthney did not indicate an expected timeline for a charging decision.
