On 28 February 1969, Black Panthers held an armed demonstration at the capitol building in Olympia, Washington, in protest at state attempts to disarm them.
Following large numbers of police murders of unarmed Black people, the revolutionary socialist Black Panther Party started armed self-defence patrols.
The Republican mayor of Seattle had already passed one such law in the city. So state legislators proposed a law which would make exhibiting "firearms or other weapons in a manner manifesting intent to intimidate others" a gross misdemeanour. Lawmakers rushed through the legislation, and upon hearing of Panther plans to demonstrate police panicked, drafting in dozens of armed state troopers and mounting a machine gun on the roof.
The Panthers arrived in four cars, and unloaded their weapons at the request of the police. Meanwhile, one activist, Aaron Dixon entered the building and made a five-minute statement to the legislature, while others held the doors shut, forcing the officials to listen.
Despite the protest, governor Dan Evans signed the bill into law that day. The National Rifle Association, supposedly a gun rights advocacy group, did not support the Panthers, and elsewhere supported Republican legal moves to take their guns away.
Black Panthers Olympia protest - WCH | Stories
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