U.S. media outlet Gateway Pundit reported Tuesday (Dec. 29) that a homeless group, driven by Antifa and other socialist groups, has taken over a Travelodge motel in Washington state, located in Fife, east of Tacoma.
According to a report in the Tacoma News Tribune, 16 rooms in the motel were signed in at once on Christmas Eve, after which 43 homeless people moved into the rooms and have refused to leave. Police and Fife’s city manager are currently coordinating with all parties to help house the homeless.
Shawn Randhawa, manager of the motel, said, “The Tacoma Housing Now (THN) organization booked 16 of our rooms last Thursday, and after paying for the night, the homeless people who checked in, stayed at the motel and refused to leave. pay their bills for four days now.”
According to the Tacoma News Tribune, there have been about 60 protesters outside the hotel in the days since the homeless checked in, and THN has occupied two more motel rooms during the protests, for a total of 18 rooms at the hotel so far.
Hotel manager Mr. Randhawa told Fife police and Fife city administrators that the hotel, which is a small family business with 15 employees, has been torn to death by the epidemic this year. “I’m really at the end of my rope,” Mr. Randhawa told the News Tribune. “No one is coming to stay at the store because of the protests. I barely managed to survive the epidemic, and this Christmas, I’m literally going broke.”
Mr. Randhawa said THN did not give him a choice, and he received no support from the police or the city. He said the hotel property was vandalized, and when he locked one of the rooms, another door was broken down. “THN took me hostage. No one would help me,” he said, “It was total lawlessness in Fife.”
When told that THN was refusing to pay for the room, he told city administrators that he might have to shut down the entire business and that if the situation didn’t change within a few days, he would abandon the building and his 15 employees wouldn’t come to work. “If the city can’t get THN out, homeless people can occupy the building,” he continued, “I’ll cut off the water supply, but I’m not going to fight these people, and I believe there’s a law in place.”
The Tacoma News Tribune reports that the hotel has requested assistance from the city of Fife to remove the trespassers.
Fife Police Chief Pete Fisher said THN’s actions were indeed a trespassing offense, but he did not want to use force to disperse the officers, but wanted to work together to resolve the problem. Fisher said, “We’re dealing with cold weather, sick homeless people right now. So we’re trying to work with neighboring agencies to help with relief or providing temporary housing.”
Hyun Kim, Fife’s city manager, told the News Tribune that he wants an open dialogue between all parties. The city of Fife is quickly negotiating with other groups to find housing and services for the 43 individuals. “I know some people are sick, but staying in a hotel room is not going to solve the problem.” He said, “The fact that they are staying in private motels will put the hotels out of business, and what about those who lose their jobs as a result? That approach is untenable.”
Pierce County (Pierce County) said they are investigating the matter, but have not yet entered into negotiations with THN.
Pierce County Councilwoman Pam Roach, who represents Fife, said the situation is partly due to the homeless needing housing and partly due to certain organizations ignoring people’s businesses. “We need to find places for the homeless to stay, especially on cold days,” she told the News Tribune. “If the government doesn’t do its job, citizens will pay for it, and this hotel owner’s experience is an example of that.”
The THN organization, broke into the abandoned Gault Middle School building in Tacoma just last November and moved homeless people into the building. After explaining that the air in the building was toxic, Tacoma police discharged the homeless people that night.
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