Police: Man arrested for possibly throwing Molotov cocktail that burned officer

With May Day approaching, Seattle police announced an arrest on Friday in connection with criminal violence that happened during last year's un-permitted protests, when nine people were arrested and five officers were injured.

For KIRO 7 News at 5, Essex Porter heard from the police chief about how “acts of violence will not be tolerated” this year and that officers will prosecute any criminal violence suspects to the “fullest extent possible.”  Watch his report on-air or here.

Seattle law enforcement leaders said that a man, identified as 32-year-old Wil Floyd, was taken under federal arrest without incident on Friday morning at his mother’s house in Wisconsin.

During last year's un-permitted, violent protest – unassociated with the peaceful immigration march earlier in the day – police report Floyd possibly threw a Molotov cocktail that caused burn injuries to an officer. Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said the actions put other officers and demonstrators at risk.

“I want to send a clear message that acts of violence will not be tolerated. We will relentlessly pursue suspects as we did in this instance and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible,” O’Toole said.

>> RELATED: 5 officers injured, 9 protesters arrested in violent May Day march

Unlawful possession of destructive devices is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"The SPD fully supports peaceful protest and expression of free speech," O'Toole said. "Our officer facilitate marches attended by thousands of people each year. It is our duty to support people's free speech and first amendment rights. We are concerned about other who put members of the public in danger, and also of our department in danger. We'll have no tolerance whatsoever for those types of acts."

May Day is known as a day of mass demonstrations in cities across the United States. In Seattle, however, it has become a day known for violent and destructive marches through downtown.

An annual, peaceful immigrant and worker march takes place during the day on May 1. But that message is generally lost as anarchists usually descend upon downtown during the evening.

Preparing for May Day in Seattle 

KIRO 7 News went to a warehouse last week where police were training for May Day protests.

Police Captain Chris Fowler has organized Seattle’s May Day response over the past four years.

>> Download the KIRO 7 News app for breaking alerts throughout May Day 

“We’ve seen officers hit with sticks, we’ve seen bottles, rocks thrown at officers, we’ve seen members of the media assaulted by those devices, we’ve seen the Molotov cocktail,” Fowler said.

“What’s a little bit different this year is we see multiple different groups starting in other parts of the city that are either going to converge at Judkins Park or will end up at the Seattle Center,” he said. “We also know of an event at the University of Washington. So we are taking all those into consideration as we develop our plan.”

>> SPD shows how they're preparing for May Day 2017

Last year, officers successfully corralled anti-capitalist protesters in SODO.

Fowler says police will take cues from protesters in how they respond.

The general rule in Seattle is to allow peaceful protests and expressions of speech. But there are times when violence or property damage occurs, and that is where police draw the line.

Whether you’ll be protesting on May Day or avoiding the crowds, you can see a list aggregated by KIRO 7 News of activities throughout the day.

A list and map of May Day events 

KIRO 7 News aggregated the below activities planned for May Day.

March for immigration workers’ rights

Socialist Seattle Councilwoman Kshama Sawant and leaders with the "May Day of Resistance" say their march will reunited workers and immigrants who they believed are targeted by President Donald Trump's administration. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend, according to the Facebook event page.

>> Sawant, immigrant rights leaders to announce plans for May Day

KIRO 7 News made this map based off the information so that you can avoid traffic delays. 

Anonymous May Day March Seattle

According to a Facebook group, anonymous "stands in solidarity with the occupy movement in call for the May Day strike as well as the May Day march." The group calls for no shopping or work this day.

University of Washington rally

A academic student employees union will gather to take action as part of a nationwide day of resistance. According to the event page, UW workers and students are joining the call for resistance across the country and against threats to their ability to work and study. It's unclear if the rally will become a march.

Puget Sound Anarchists rally in Olympia

The Puget Sound Anarchists group in Olympia say May Day is an international day of action. It's calling on protesters to "stop everything," according to a blog post.

May Day antifascists rally

A Facebook event page calls for people to dress in black and gather at the King County Juvenile Detention Center as part of an “antifascists” rally. The group says instead of building a juvenile center that the city should “build community.”

Cox Media Group