(The Center Square) – Federal Way City Council President Martin Moore put up a Facebook post Tuesday encouraging students in the south King County district to walk out of class on Thursday and Friday in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in other states.
“Our young people are clearly feeling fear and uncertainty, and this is heartbreaking,” Moore wrote. “I am proud of them for using their voices and I stand with them”.
The post went on to encourage students to cover their faces if they walk out.
“Walking out will mean that you are putting yourself out there,” he wrote. “Therefore, COVER UP!! Photos and videos are bound to be taken/posted so PLEASE keep your identity protected.
“We aren’t doing this out of hatred,” he added. “This is friendly fire to stand with humanity and prove that we should ALL be treated as equals.”
Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell told The Center Square he was frustrated by the post.
“A council member brought it to my attention, and when I had a chance to review it, I was very concerned, and did not believe it was appropriate,” Ferrell said. “It wasn’t appropriate either as a communication from an elected official or certainly not on the official Facebook page of the council president.”
Ferrell said that he immediately called Moore.
“I let him know in very direct terms that this was not appropriate and we took it down,” he said. “We’ve got a special role as elected leaders, and we swear an oath to uphold the law of the United States and the city of Federal Way and the State of Washington. And I don’t think encouraging students to not attend school furthers that.”
TCS asked the mayor if there are potential consequences for Moore’s post, despite the fact it was taken down within hours of going online.
“We do have retention rules that I communicated with him and our city clerk to make sure that should there be a public records request that we’re in a position to fully comply with that under the law,” said Ferrell. “As regard to any consequences, I’m not quite sure off the top of my head what those would be. But we did receive communication from a parent who had seen the post and was very, very upset, and justifiably so.”
TCS reached out to Moore for comment on the post but he didn’t repond.
Federal Way School Board member Eric Gollings told TCS he was bothered by the council president’s post.
“It’s definitely concerning to have someone in a partisan local position encouraging students to protest,” Gollings said. “That’s problematic. If it were a student led [walkout] I definitely would support their right to protest. But as a leader in the community that’s not our place.”
He said a similar protest a few weeks ago was not majorly disruptive to the school day.
“It was just a few minutes before school ended at a high school, so they weren’t losing a lot of classes,” he added. “So, it wasn’t a big disruption. But to have an elected leader encourage students to do that is very problematic.”
Ferrell said Moore ushered students to appear before the council at Tuesday evening’s council meeting.
“What I do not want is to bring the level of divisiveness that we’ve seen around this country to our doorstep, and it’s just not necessary,” Ferrell said. “So, the stated fear of the high school students… I don’t think that’s justified. I don’t think high school students have anything to fear from ICE. If you’re abiding by the law, you have nothing to fear. ICE has not come to Federal Way at all. But if ICE does come to Federal Way, my firmest voice on this is do not impede their lawful operations.”
TCS reached out to the Federal Way School District Superintendent for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Moore is also a substitute teacher in the Federal Way School District.
