The Story of Bloody Sunday

The incident known as the Everett Massacre was a bloody confrontation that occurred when two boatloads of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) members attempted to land at an Everett city dock. As the 300 IWW members arrived at Everett on the afternoon of November 5, 1916, they were met by a crowd of local police and over 200 armed and hastily deputized citizen vigilantes. The IWW members had returned after a series of escalating confrontations between IWW organizers and the Snohomish County Sheriff Donald McRae, due to the IWW support of an Everett shingle weavers’ strike and an attempt to mount a “Free Speech Fight.” The confrontations culminated on October 30 at Beverly Park, where IWW members were run out of town after being severely beaten by deputies.

The IWWs had returned on November 5 to mount a “Free Speech Fight,” a tactic in which the IWW would flood into a locale to exercise their First Amendment rights, get arrested, and overwhelm the local jails and courts. This tactic had proved successful in several other campaigns in different locales throughout the United States, sometimes establishing a precedent of non-harassment for public speaking by local authorities.

After tense words between Sheriff McRae and the IWW members on the boat regarding whether they could land on the dock, a shot was fired. It is not clear which side fired first, since both sides were armed. However, the Everett crowd proved better armed in the ensuing ten-minute gunfight. The IWW boat almost capsized, dislodging IWW passengers into the water, some of whom were shot and some of whom probably drowned. The boats returned to Seattle.

In the battle’s aftermath, 5 IWW members were confirmed dead–though the number may have been as many as a dozen–and 27 were wounded. The dead Wobblies were: Hugo Gerlot, Abraham Rebenovit (often misspelled “Rabinowitz”) , Gus Johnson, and John Looney were dead, and Felix Baran lay dying. Two citizen deputies were killed with 16-20 wounded, including the Snohomish County sheriff. Ironically, the two killed deputies were actually struck by “friendly fire” from their fellow deputies, who shot them in the back during the melee.

Seventy-four IWW members were arrested upon their return to Seattle and put in the Snohomish County jail. Eventually, all of the prisoners were released except for one IWW leader: Thomas Tracy. Tracy stood trial for the murder of the deputies–a crime for which he was ultimately acquitted.