Protests, Violence Cause Downsizing of Huge Seattle Tree Lighting Ceremony

Officials say it's not directly because of previous disruptive protests, but the incidents did result in the producer of the huge event to pull out for 2016.

Seattle's Westlake Mall is the Northwest Version of the Mall of The America in Minnesota, a huge sprawling retail center, who's Christmas tree lighting ceremony draws tens of thousands from around the region.

But this year,  according to KING-5 TV, it will be noticeably scaled back.

The Downtown Seattle Association says the decision to downsize  has nothing to do with the disruptive protests, which resulted in police having to respond to secure the shopping area. Officials say downsizing the ceremony and eliminating some of the stages and and props will allow them to allocate more resources to other events during the season. However, the major producer of the huge event has announced they will not be involved this year.

SeaFair, who stages the hydro races on Lake Washington, pulled out of producing the event, which was marred by the protests. Without the help and guidance of SeaFair, the mall will instead have to rely on a much smaller, scaled-down event.

Last year, in protest of the Ferguson, Missouri grand jury decisions concerning police officers, Black Lives Matter protestors disrupted the tree lighting, and forced early closure of the mall. They had stated prior to the protest they intended to "disrupt commerce" among other holiday activities as part of their protest.  Police were called, and several protestors were arrested, including some who assaulted police.

The BLM protestors also caused Black Friday shopping to stop, as the mall had to close early for security reasons. Tens of thousands of shoppers were sent home, and those who showed up later were asked to shop elsewhere.