Lawmakers condemn protest at home of Democratic WA legislator

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 on theft, drug and firearm charges, 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.