SPOKANE, Wash. – Downtown businesses are staying open and confident as tens of thousands prepare to gather for Pride weekend alongside planned protests.
Local business owners say they’re not boarding up their windows because they expect the protests to remain peaceful.
Jesse McCauley, owner of Petunia and Loomis, isn’t worried about this weekend’s events.
“I’m not concerned about it too much,” McCauley said. “We just try to provide a safe space so we’re just hoping everything goes well this weekend and people are safe, and get to enjoy themselves.”
McCauley doesn’t expect protests to escalate like they did in 2020, when windows were smashed and some downtown stores were looted.
“I think a lot of instances where people smashed out windows in 2020, a lot of that was people who weren’t involved in the situations, they were just looking for an opportunity to cause trouble,” McCauley said.
Most protests nationwide have remained peaceful, including one held in downtown Spokane Wednesday night. McCauley supports people making their voices heard.
“I think that some of these protests need to happen. Basic human rights are being violated, so it’s important that some of this stuff happens,” McCauley said.
Police will have a large presence downtown throughout the weekend.
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