SPOKANE, Wash.– A Spokane man has accused unmarked officers of targeting and arresting him for his socialist political views.
Jeremy Logan said he was on his way to a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Sunday when those agents arrested him and put him in an unmarked van.
4 News Now has confirmed those were detectives from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and he was arrested for a 7-year-old warrant.
That warrant came from Douglas County in 2013 for failing to pay fines and appear in court for a drug charge.
We’ve seen federal unmarked agents arresting people in Portland and New York; this is not the same situation. But, the way he was arrested is now raising questions as the Spokane County Jail is already overcrowded and COVID-19 is still a concern.
“I was picked up by unidentified people and thrown into the back of a minivan,” Logan said.
Logan said one agent was wearing a Chicago Cubs shirt. Another, he said, was dressed in all black, and third man had a “militia” look with a vest on. Logan said there were other agents there, too.
Logan believes his political beliefs and active voice towards those beliefs on social media are what caused him to be targeted.
When they arrived to the Spokane County Jail, Logan was handed off to a city police officer.
4 News Now asked the Sheriff’s Office, which said it always prepares for bigger events like Sunday’s protest, and that’s when detectives recognized Logan and arrested him for that old warrant.
“This isn’t about a warrant,” Logan said. “This is because I have leftist politics, and I’ve helped organize Black Lives Matter protests.”
A spokesperson said those detectives were in plain clothes but had a badge visible. Logan disputed that claim and said he didn’t see any of them wearing one.
That spokesperson also said it’s routine for detectives to arrest people for active warrants, but Logan believes it was not done correctly.
He said he asked detectives several times why they were taking him away, and he was told not to worry about it.
When pressed about it, the Sheriff’s Office said Logan posed a threat with some social media posts, and they sent us copies of some of those Friday.
One stated, “I want to take these pigs heads off with a handsaw.”
The other cited lyrics from a song Logan wrote, which called cops “killers.”
The detectives did not use those posts as the basis of Logan’s arrest.
Logan admitted he did post those but said they were not threats.
“Not a threat at all,” Logan said. “It was a statement of my frustration at what happened to George Floyd.”
Logan is the co-chair of a group called Spokane Democratic Socialists, and he also helps lead an organization that assists people in finding apartment rentals.
Now, he and those organizations are asking for change in the Sheriff’s Office, because they believe his rights were violated.
“I would like Sheriff Ozzie to resign,” Logan said. “I would like him to be held accountable.”
Logan spent about 24 hours in the Spokane County Jail and was asked if he’d allow federal agents to question him, but declined.
He was later released after posting bail.
The Sheriff’s Office declined an on-camera interview with 4 News Now.
The Sheriff’s Office also does not have body cams, so this incident likely has no video evidence to back either claims.
Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is expected to release more details regarding this incident next week, according to a department spokesperson.
Source: KXLY
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