A Seattle pastor is looking for an apology from town’s mayor following a violent conflict at a Christian prayer rally within the coronary heart of a traditionally LGBT-dominant neighborhood.
The Might 24 rally at Cal Anderson Park, organized by pro-life group Mayday USA for its “DontMessWithOurKids” nationwide tour, drew tons of of supporters holding indicators supporting the sanctity of life, organic gender, the nuclear household and non secular freedom.
A short while later, pro-LGBT counter-protesters confronted the group. Waving transgender flags, they reportedly clashed with police in riot gear and threw water bottles and different objects.
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Seattle Police Division (SPD) officers had been making an attempt to maintain two totally different protest teams separated and noticed “multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group” shortly after 1:30 p.m., in line with a information launch.
When officers moved to arrest the folks accountable, they had been assaulted by extra protesters, in line with the SPD. The scenario escalated over the course of a number of hours, leading to 22 adults arrested for assault and obstruction and one juvenile detained, police stated.
One officer was handled and launched from the hospital for an damage sustained throughout the protests, in line with an SPD spokesperson.
Video footage from the rally shared on social media confirmed two protesters who jumped a police barrier to realize entry to the stage earlier than being eliminated by safety.
In line with an occasion itemizing, organizers of the counter-protest, which they labeled “Keep Your Bibles Off Our Bodies,” included the Freedom Socialist Occasion, Puget Sound Mobilization for Reproductive Justice and Radical Ladies.
Following the rally, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, a Democrat, launched an announcement in obvious assist of the LGBT protesters and referred to as the Christian worship collect a “far-right rally” that sought to “provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city’s values, in the heart of Seattle’s most prominent [LGBT] neighborhood.”
“I am grateful for those who make their voices heard in support of our neighbors without resorting to violence,” Harrell stated. “In the face of an extreme right-wing national effort to attack our [LGBT] communities, Seattle will continue to stand unwavering in our embrace of diversity, love for our neighbors, and commitment to justice and fairness.”
After blaming the violence on “anarchists” who he stated “infiltrated the counter-protestors group,” the mayor additionally introduced that he ordered parks officers to conduct a evaluation to find out “whether there were legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued.”
The Pursuit NW, a multi-campus Evangelical church within the Seattle space, slammed Harrell’s remarks as “religious bigotry” on social media and referred to as for Harrell to both apologize or resign.
Russell Johnson, lead pastor at Pursuit NW, wrote Sunday on X: “[Harrell] owes Christians in [Washington] State an apology or his bigoted remarks after folks who were holding a peaceful worship event at Cal Anderson Park were violently assaulted for the high crime of expressing their deeply held religious beliefs in the form of a permitted worship event on city property.”
He criticized Seattle’s “inept political leadership” and the mayor for being “an embarrassment to the Emerald City.”
After citing Harrell’s 1996 arrest on weapons and assault costs for brandishing a firearm on a pregnant lady over a parking spot, Johnson slammed Harrell’s management document.
“The Mayor is on his third police chief since taking office. No one wants to work for him. His own family can’t stand him. And Antifa gets a free pass from him.
“I suppose pulling weapons on pregnant ladies is not sufficient for Mayor Harrell,” Johnson continued. “He is now received guilty Christians for a metropolis that he has let go to hell.”
Johnson also shared a video, which showed counter-protesters crashing through a police barricade as Mayday USA performed a worship concert at Cal Anderson Park.
The @MayorofSeattle owes Christians in WA State an apology for his bigoted remarks after folks who were holding a peaceful worship event at Cal Anderson Park were violently assaulted for the high crime of expressing their deeply held religious beliefs in the form of a permitted… pic.twitter.com/sxP1fHWR75
— Russell Johnson (@russellbjohnson) May 25, 2025
City officials have taken political positions against Christians in recent years, most notably with missionary and political activist Sean Feucht in September 2020 when the city shut down a local park to prevent him from hosting a prayer rally on Labor Day while allowing protesters to engage in violent protests.
Despite efforts by Seattle Parks and Recreation to halt the event at Gas Works Park, more than 2,000 Christians ultimately gathered in the streets of Seattle in a “worship protest” throughout the top of the coronavirus shutdown.
“Well bless their hearts.”
