Police

Advocates for Asian Massage Workers Decry 'Sexist, Racist' Raids in Seattle

Bothell police set out in search of sex trafficking and ended up shutting down five businesses for code violations.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 4.27.2026 12:45 PM

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(Credit: Bothell City Police Department)

In a Seattle suburb, police recently raided five massage businesses suspected of prostitution—and ended up inviting some serious accusations against themselves.

The raids took place in Bothell and were conducted by the Bothell Police Department amid what it described as "ongoing community concerns." But groups concerned with massage worker and immigrant rights say police actions are simply the latest example of discrimination and state violence against Asian women and immigrant workers.

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"You're patting your own back for solving fabricated issues based on your own sexist, racist ideas, and Asian massage workers are paying the price," said Lee Chen at an April 20 rally outside of the King County Jail.

The rally was organized by the Massage Parlor Organizing Project (MPOP), Whose Streets? Our Streets, Red Canary Song, and the International Migrants Alliance, according to Northwest Asian Weekly.

"When these police officers entered these businesses, they barely identified themselves," said organizer J.M. Wong at the rally. "There was no language interpretation. There was no identifying of Miranda rights. People did not know that they could maintain silence."

One Arrest, No Charges, and 5 Code-Violation Shutdowns

Two of the raided businesses—including one just feet away from the Bothell police headquarters—are owned by Lizhen Yang, according to KIRO 7. "She and her husband deny any wrongdoing."

As of last Monday, only one person had been arrested, police said.

That person seems to have been Yang, who was booked into the King County Correctional Facility on April 14 on suspicion of promoting prostitution and human trafficking. She was released the next day, without charges. The King County jail information system now lists her case status as "closed."

All five massage businesses were shut down, with authorities citing fire code violations.

"Why are immigrant businesses being targeted by large-scaled investigations and raids by detectives, police, and fire department over fire code violations?" asked MPOP on Instagram.

According to MPOP, police "ripped security cameras from walls, toppled furniture, knocked down doors, signage, and artwork from the walls" during the raids. "They also seized money from workers."

And those workers are now out of jobs. Police offered no indication if or when the five massage businesses may be allowed to reopen.

MPOP emphasized how raids like the ones in Bothell "don't help workers," who may be traumatized by the encounters with police, have their belongings seized as evidence, and face the threat of deportation. They're part of "systems that silence and criminalize the very workers they claim to be 'saving.'"

Bothell Raids Part of a Larger Pattern

MPOP also noted that these raids are part of a larger pattern of "carceral anti-trafficking," in which (real or imagined) exploitation is........

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