SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich held a press conference on Tuesday to address recent news of a protester who claimed he was arrested by plain clothes officers in an unmarked vehicle during an August 30 protest, which he called politically motivated.
Jeremy Logan, co-chair of Spokane's Democratic Socialists of America chapter, spoke to the Huffington Post for a Sept. 4 article about his arrest, alleging that it was politically motivated. Logan told the Post that he believes his arrest was an attempt to pressure him into providing information on other anti-fascist activists, or in retaliation to past statements he's made about law enforcement.
KREM has been unable to independently contact Logan.
The Spokane City Council said it is looking into claims that Logan was arrested by plain clothes officers who refused to identify themselves ahead of the March for Jacob Blake on August 30.
Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs told KREM that he has request that local law enforcement provide full reports on both anyone threatening violence against officers, as well as the sheriff's office involvement in the arrest of someone on an out-of-county warrant during the protest.
Knezovich holds presser on Sept. 8
Knezovich said during the press conference that the arrest wasn't politically motivated as suggested in the report, but was instead just the result of an investigation into Logan due to an outstanding felony warrant.
"The only true part about that would be the, ‘I am not a fan of Antifa.'," Knezovich said.
Knezovich said the deputies involved in the arrest were wearing badges around their necks that they showed to Logan during the arrest. He also said that the use of unmarked vehicles and arresting people away from large crowds are deescalation tactics.
"Everybody wants law enforcement to deescalate correct? Well, this is a deescalation tactic. We do not arrest someone in the middle of a hostile crowd so we can fight people. We don’t do that," Knezovich said.
Knezovich said that they had been trying to arrest Logan since June for a multi-county warrant, and deputies had even tried to contact him at his house. The warrant was for failure to appear in relation to a possession of heroin charge, according to Knezovich.
He also referred to social media posts allegedly made by Logan, in which he advocated for violence against police officers. Logan had told the Huffington Post that he hadn't advocated for violence against law enforcement.
The sheriff also referred to Logan's claims that the arrest was politically motivated as a conspiracy.
Knezovich also wrote on a slideshow playing behind him that "Spokane is the victim of Breean's [Beggs, Spokane City Council President] and the Huffington Post's defense of Antifa violence and their self-proclaimed champions." Knezovich also called Beggs and ally of Logan's.
Beggs responded to Knezovich's comments in a statement to KREM Tuesday, saying he only recalls interacting with Logan at city hall when Logan was advocating for tenant rights.
"I only recall interacting with Mr. Logan in terms of him coming to City Hall and advocating for tenant rights. I have never had any negative interactions with him but doubt he would call me an ally. I don't recall discussing police accountability with him or his feelings about what is happening across the nation. I have requested that our police provide us with a full report regarding any potential threats to them and their involvement in an arrest for an out of county warrant for failure to make legal financial obligation payments. I am not aware of anyone I know who identifies as Antifacist and have never commented on their actions. I strive for peace, social harmony and justice for all and will continue to be an advocate for the same in our city," Beggs statement reads in full.
During the about hour-long press conference, Knezovich touched on many topics other than Logan's arrest, including the widespread protests around the country and here in Spokane, media coverage of the protests, and Antifa.
Knezovich said there are investigations into others involved with the protests, which he said seems to be part of a coordinated effort across the country. He also said the FBI has been reaching out to speak with some people that were involved with the May 30 protest in downtown Spokane.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office, which carried out the arrest, has previously told KREM the arrest was conducted legally.
"After reading the article I immediately reached out to our police chief and requested all the data that his department has access to, including all emergency communications traffic and reports from either the Sheriff's office or police on on this matter. He is on vacation but emailed me that he has instructed his staff to gather the information. Once it is provided, City Council will respond," said Spokane City Council President Breann Beggs.
Logan wrote a post on Facebook alleging that he was arrested by officers in plain clothes for an outstanding warrant in another county. The Spokane Democratic Socialists of America shared the post on Twitter.
Logan's post alleges that officers weren't clear on which county the warrant was from. Logan says he was put into a "beat-up minivan" with guns lying around the floor. Logan wrote that officers didn't identify themselves, although he asked repeatedly which agency they were with. Logan says he was then handed over to the Spokane police, who were also unable to say what agency the officers who originally arrested Logan were with.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office confirmed to KREM that plainclothes deputies did arrest Logan on Aug. 30 for an outstanding warrant out of Douglas County for failure to appear on a possession of a controlled substance charge from 2013.
Mark Gregory, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said the deputies involved were wearing badges and other SCSO gear and were identifiable as law enforcement.
Gregory confirmed deputies were using an unmarked car, which he said was not unusual. Gregory said deputies made several attempts to arrest Logan at other events and at his home but were unsuccessful.
The sheriff's office alleges that Logan has made threatening statements towards law enforcement officers in the past, and provided screenshots of a post from Logan's Facebook account saying "I am not going to lie. I want to take these pigs heads off with a hand saw," and another post quoting a song that said "these cops are killers, they killed my friend, so [expletive] them all, with every breath I take, I'm going to break the [expletive] law."
Logan told the Huffington Post that he's been critical toward police officers before, but never made threats.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.