The Supreme Court of Washington ruled on a case involving Seattle police officers who attended the January 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. The officers sought to prevent the disclosure of their identities in response to public records requests, arguing that disclosure would violate their privacy rights under the Public Records Act (PRA) and the First Amendment. The Court held that the officers were not entitled to anonymity because their attendance at the rally was a public act, and they had not demonstrated a privacy interest in their identities.
The Court emphasized that the rally was a highly publicized event attended by thousands of people and covered by the media, making the officers’ attendance a matter of public record. The Court also rejected the officers’ First Amendment argument, noting that “the fact of their attendance at such an event is not private under the First Amendment. The officers do not point to any evidence that shows they took steps to conceal their identities so they could attend the event anonymously; instead, they made the choice to attend a public event where they could expect to be seen by others.
“The PRA’s strong presumption for the release of public records is not without limits, but the officers have not shown that their identities fall within any exemption to this presumption.” The Court reversed the Court of Appeals and held that the officers could not proceed under pseudonyms, affirming the trial court’s denial of their request for anonymity.
John Does 1, 2, 4, & 5 v. Seattle Police Dep’t, 2025 Wash. LEXIS 86 (2025).