Judge lets Garrett go to South Africa race meeting
Omari Tahir-Garrett, the mayoral candidate accused of striking Seattle Mayor Paul Schell in the face with a bullhorn, will be allowed to leave the country to attend a conference on racism in South Africa.
Yesterday, over a deputy prosecutor's vigorous objections, King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell granted Garrett permission to leave at 11 a.m. today for the United Nations-sponsored conference.
In court yesterday, Garrett, 55, let out a whoop at the news.
"I've been fighting my whole life against racism and apartheid," he said after the hearing.
"Since nobody else from this government feels concerned enough about racism to go to the conference, I'm going to go. How come the mayor isn't going or the county executive? How can you solve the problem of racism unless you sit down and talk about the problem?"
Garrett initially was held for $250,000 bail, but that was reduced to $25,000 on July 23 after his attorney argued that Garrett had ties to the community and was unlikely to flee.
Ramsdell thought Garrett would return and sided with his attorney, Mark Larranaga, who asked that Garrett be allowed to leave today and return Sept. 11.
Most people similarly charged aren't allowed to leave the state, said Deputy Prosecutor Scott Marlow. From the beginning, "we've felt he's a safety hazard to the community," Marlow said. But all along, "the court has not gone with our recommendations."
Garrett has been charged with second-degree assault. If convicted, the standard sentencing range is three to nine months in jail. He is accused of hitting Schell in the face with a bullhorn July 7 at the Central Area's Unity festival. Schell had been invited to speak to a crowd of 200, and Garrett was shouting over Schell's remarks through a bullhorn. After Schell finished, Garrett walked up and hit him, according to prosecutors.
Garrett later insisted that he had not hit the mayor and that someone in the crowd had thrown something at Schell, who suffered fractured bones in his face. Garrett also has supporters who think he is innocent and look to him as a community leader.
Garrett has referred to Africa as his true home, and in court hearings he has asked a number of times to be returned there.
Garrett has lived in Africa and visits there three times a year, he said. But Seattle is the place where he says he's called to be an activist. "And I've been doing that for 55 years," he said.
Nancy Bartley can be reached at 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com.