Lawmakers condemn protest at home of Democratic WA legislator
Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, is the first formerly incarcerated legislator in Washington state. (Photo courtesy of Legislative Support Services)
Lawmakers have sprung to the defense of a Washington state lawmaker who faced a protest at her home over the weekend.
Rep. Tarra Simmons estimated 20-25 protesters showed up at her Bremerton home on Saturday. The Democratic lawmaker held two town hall events that day in her district and was planning to stop at home after the first, but said she got calls from neighbors about the demonstration, so stayed away.
'I believe that people should have a right to free speech and assembly, I just wish they'd do it at my office or the Capitol,' Simmons said Tuesday.
Matthew Adams, who ran for Bremerton City Council in 2021, took credit for the hourlong protest. He said the demonstrators stayed on public property. 'We were pretty respectful,' he added.
He said they focused on Simmons because of her approach to public safety. Simmons, who was formerly incarcerated, has been a staunch advocate for strengthening rights and improving conditions for people in the criminal justice system, including those in prison.
'Criminals come to our homes, so why can't we go to theirs?' Adams said Tuesday.
Some of the signs at the protest included a mugshot of Simmons. Another called her a 'Tarra-ist.'
Elected in 2020, Simmons said her legislative career has been about eliminating the stigma people continue to face long after leaving prison. Her criminal record has been expunged.
'This harassment could lead people to relapse and recidivate,' she said. 'Lack of opportunity and constant harassment of people who have been incarcerated is what I'm trying to fight.'
The tactics drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle.
'I think it is out of line for people to be targeted at their private homes for their political views,' said House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle.
House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, agreed. 'I don't think it's morally right to be harassing folks in their own home and making them feel unsafe,' he said. But he also called Simmons 'soft on crime.'
One of her proposals, House Bill 1125, would pave the way for felony offenders to petition for a new prison sentence. But the House didn't pass the measure before a deadline, so it is likely dead for the year.
'By protesting at her house, you lose the very good message, which is that Tarra Simmons wants to let criminals out of jail early, and, instead, how the protest was conducted was the story, and I don't think that's wise,' Stokesbary said.
Stokesbary hopes Democratic leaders condemn protests at the homes of Republican lawmakers, citing Washington Education Association demonstrations over the past decade.
After the protest at her home, demonstrators took to Simmons' town hall in Bremerton, which she attended with her seatmates.
Adams said he called her a 'scumbag' there. He said he likes Democratic Rep. Greg Nance, who is also from Kitsap County, but not Simmons.
Adams said he doesn't plan to hold another similar protest, saying he thought this one was effective.
In recent years, Lt. Gov. Denny Heck has championed bringing greater civility to politics. He spearheaded the development of the Project for Civic Health with the University of Washington, Henry M. Jackson Foundation and William D. Ruckelshaus Center.
A report from the group found governing has gotten harder at the local level, with more than one mayor reporting protesters outside their homes. One had that happen during a wedding.
'The incapacity for civil dialogue across differing opinions is a serious disease of our body politic,' the report reads.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
10 minutes ago
- Axios
California to sue Trump administration amid LA protest standoff, Newsom says
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Monday post that California will sue President Trump, saying he "illegally acted" to federalize the National Guard during protests against federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. The big picture: Trump on Saturday signed a memorandum calling in the National Guard — despite opposition from the state's and the city's Democratic leadership. Driving the news: Newsom, after saying Sunday that the Golden State would be taking Trump to court, wrote in a Monday X post that the president had "flamed the fires." He added, "The order he signed doesn't just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We're suing him." Trump's order cited "[n]umerous incidents of violence and disorder" and "violent protests" but did not specifically mention California or the Los Angeles area. The other side:"Gavin Newsom's feckless leadership is directly responsible for the lawless riots and violent attacks on law enforcement in Los Angeles," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement provided to Axios. Jackson continued, "Instead of filing baseless lawsuits meant to score political points with his left-wing base, Newsom should focus on protecting Americans by restoring law and order to his state." Friction point: Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other Democrats have argued Trump's deployment of the National Guard was an unnecessary escalation, while Trump administration officials have railed against their leadership. Border czar Tom Homan did not rule out arrests for Democratic officials in the state should they impede law enforcement or harbor undocumented immigrants in a Saturday interview with NBC News, but said he does not believe Bass had "crossed the line yet." "Come and get me, though guy," Newsom wrote in response. Homan, in a Monday morning interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" argued the NBC report was "dishonest." "I was clear they haven't crossed the line," Homan said Monday. "But they're not above the law either." Zoom in: Hegseth in his Monday post included a clip from an interview with commentator Brian Tyler Cohen in which the governor described Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as "a joke" and characterized Trump as "unhinged." "This is a preview for things to come," he said. "This isn't about LA, per se. It's about us today, it's about you, everyone watching, tomorrow." Context: Trump's Saturday memorandum, which called into federal service some 2,000 National Guard personnel for 60 days, cited rarely used federal powers and sidestepped Newsom.
The Hill
16 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrats are drawing closer to the crypto industry despite Trump divisions
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump builds a crypto empire — including hosting a private dinner with top investors at his golf club — Democrats have united in condemning what they call blatant corruption from the White House. But the Democratic Party's own relationship with the emerging crypto industry is far less cut and dried. Work in the Republican-led Senate to legitimize cryptocurrency by adding guardrails has drawn backing from some Democrats, underscoring growing support for the industry in the party. But divisions have opened over the bill, with many demanding it prevent the Republican president and his family from directly profiting from cryptocurrency. 'I'm all on board with the idea of regulating crypto,' said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. 'But at this moment, when cryptocurrency is being so clearly used by Donald Trump to facilitate his corruption, I don't think you can close your eyes to that when you're legislating.' The legislation is moving ahead more rapidly than Congress usually acts when an industry is new. But the big money and campaign donations flowing from cryptocurrency firms have made them a new powerhouse on the political scene, one that's increasingly gaining allies and capturing the attention of lawmakers. A look at what to know about the industry's clout and the political fight over what's known as the GENIUS Act: To understand the growing clout of the crypto industry, look no further than the 2024 election. Fairshake, a crypto super political action committee, and its affiliated PACs spent more than $130 million in congressional races. Fairshake spent roughly $40 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio in an effort to defeat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown, who lost to Moreno by more than 3 percentage points, was seen as a chief critic of the industry as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. 'DC received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career, as it doesn't represent the will of the voters,' Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, wrote in a social media post the day after the 2024 election. Coinbase — the largest crypto exchange in the U.S. and biggest contributor to Fairshake — does not view support for its industry as partisan, according to Kara Calvert, the company's vice president of U.S. policy. The industry also spent heavily to support Democrats Ruben Gallego and Elissa Slotkin in their races for open Senate seats in battleground states. Fairshake spent $10 million in support of Slotkin during her successful Senate run against Republican Mike Rodgers, and Slotkin, who won the Michigan race by fewer than 20,000 votes, spoke in favor of crypto on the campaign trail. Slotkin declined to be interviewed. Similar dynamics are setting up ahead of 2026 in contested House and Senate races. Fairshake said in January that it already had $116 million in cash on hand aimed at the 2026 midterm elections. 'We're not slowing down, and everything remains on the table,' Josh Vlasto, a spokesperson for Fairshake, told The Associated Press. Hours before a May 19 vote to move forward on cryptocurrency legislation in the Senate, an advocacy group tied to Coinbase sent an email to the offices of U.S. senators warning that the vote would count toward their crypto-friendliness scores. 'What the spending does is put crypto on the map. It lets members know that this is not a phase, this is real industry, with real dollars, that is developing its hold in Washington,' said Calvert. A significant number of Democrats, 16, joined Republicans in advancing the crypto legislation. The GENIUS Act would create a new regulatory structure for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. It is viewed as a step toward consumer protections and greater legitimacy for the industry. The sticking point for many Democrats is that while the bill prohibits members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins, it excludes the president from those restrictions. Trump, once a skeptic of the industry, has vowed in his second term to make the U.S. the global capital of crypto. Meanwhile, he and his family have moved aggressively into nearly every corner of the industry: mining operations, billion-dollar bitcoin purchases, a newly minted stablecoin and a Trump-branded meme coin. Days after Trump's interests in the industry became public in early May, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York urged the Democratic caucus to unite and vote against the package to have a stronger hand in negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss private discussions. On May 8, a bloc of Senate Democrats who had previously backed the GENIUS Act reversed course — ultimately voting to block the bill from advancing. Negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans followed. The White House was also involved, and in contact with senators' offices on both sides of the aisle, according to a senior official granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. The new version of the bill is now expected to pass the 100-member Senate this month. Amendments are still possible. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. has filed an amendment — cosponsored by Schumer — that would bar the president and his family from profiting off stablecoins, though it's unlikely to pass. 'There is room for improvements as there often is with a lot of legislation. But with this in particular, we've got issues with the president,' said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona 'Having said that, this was negotiated with Democrats and Republicans. We got to a place. We voted on it. I expect this is the version we're going to pass.' Still, the legislation is stirring unease. Schumer, asked if he's urging members to vote against the bill, noted that he has opposed the legislation and said 'there's division in our caucus on that issue.' 'There's a gaping hole in this bill that everybody sees,' Murphy said. 'After it's passed, it will be illegal for me to issue a cryptocurrency, but it's legal for the president of the United States.' 'If this bill passes, we kind of go from a dirt road to a paved road,' he said. If the Senate approves the stablecoin legislation, the bill will still need to clear the House before reaching the president's desk. Crypto advocates say the next priority is pushing Congress for market structure legislation, a far more sweeping effort than simply regulating stablecoins. 'Stablecoin is one step of the path. Then you need market structure. We're hopeful that the Senate works together to pass something quickly,' Calvert said. Some Democrats view the legislation as a chance to impose basic guardrails on a rapidly growing industry that's particularly popular among men and younger voters, two groups that drifted from the party in 2024. ___ Associated Press writers Alan Suderman, Lisa Mascaro, Matt Brown and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
GOP lawmakers push to jack up proposed tax on money migrants send home after threat by Mexico
GOP lawmakers are pushing to jack up a proposed new tax on money migrants earn in the US and send back home to family — after being threatened by Mexico's president. Nestled in the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act making its way through the Senate is a 3.5% tax on 'remittances' from noncitizens in the US, or money transferred back to relatives and family in the migrants' home country. Over the weekend, footage of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum blasting the planned tax during a speech last month went viral. 'If necessary, we'll mobilize. We don't want taxes on remittances from our fellow countrymen. From the US to Mexico,' Sheinbaum warned in the clip. It is not entirely clear what she meant by 'mobilize.' 4 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is griping about the impact a new US tax on money Mexico's migrants send home would have on her country. Carlos Santiago/Eyepix Group / Shutterstock 4 GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri proposed now imposing a tax on of 15% instead of 3.5% because of Sheinbaum's comments. Getty Images But her salvo was enough to prompt several Republican lawmakers to promptly call on the Senate to jack up the proposed tax on remittances. 'The House's Big Beautiful Bill addressed the urgent need for a remittance tax. But we can go further. I'm introducing legislation to quadruple the proposed remittance tax — from 3.5% to 15%,' Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) seethed on X. 'America is not the world's piggy bank. And we don't take kindly to threats.' The tax on remittance is estimated to haul in about $26 billion over the next decade, according to an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation. Remittances are generally a huge revenue stream for developing countries. Mexico is the second largest receiver of remittances in the world behind India thanks to cash flows from the US, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 4 Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, backed the idea of raising the tax on remittances in response to the Mexican leader's threat. Getty Images Some estimates indicate that Mexico received about $64.7 billion in remittances last year, although transfers to Mexico have begun to wane in recent months amid President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. 'New reason to amend the Senate bill to tax remittances at a lot higher rate…' Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote on X in response to the clip of Sheinbaum. 4 Mexico has been grappling with economic fallout from President Trump's tariffs. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) added, 'Raise the remittances!!' Mexico is the largest US trading partner, according to recent data from the US Census Bureau. Earlier this year, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on imports from both Mexico and Canada that are not subject to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Trump claimed the new tariffs were necessary to leverage Canada and Mexico to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration into the US. The president has since fired off a flurry of tariffs on other countries as well.
