Sunday in Cal Anderson: ‘ICE OUT FOR GOOD’ demonstration — UPDATE: Pictures and Mayor Wilson

UPDATE: We’ve added some images from the day. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay were among speakers at the afternoon rally (Images: CHS)

Groups that organized to bring together a Seattle Waterfront vigil and march this week to mark the killing of Renee Nicole Good are planning another rally Sunday in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park.

The “ICE Out For Good” event is planned to begin at 11 AM on the north end of the park with groups including local organizers Seattle Indivisible and Defund Musk joining what is expected to be a day of nationwide protests over the deadly shooting and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Continue reading

Groups holding ‘Abolish Ice’ vigil and march for Renee Nicole Good on the Seattle Waterfront — UPDATE: Council member condemns ICE and arrests in Seattle

An “Abolish Ice” vigil for Renee Nicole Good is being organized by activists and community groups Thursday night on the Seattle Waterfront.

Local organizers for Seattle Indivisible and Defund Musk announced the planned 6:30 PM gathering will be followed by a march from Pier 58:

We are committed to nonviolent action. This event is a protected expression of our First Amendment rights. We expect all participants to avoid escalating confrontations with those who disagree with our values. We prioritize keeping all members of our community safe. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

Continue reading

Report still underway but review of SPD crackdown on May 24th demonstrators in Cal Anderson ends early over leaks

The review of the Seattle Police Department’s crackdown on demonstrators against an anti-trans Christian group’s rally in Cal Anderson Park in May will be incomplete.

The Seattle Office of Inspector General announced last month it suspended the “Sentinel Event Review” process around the May 24th arrests over leaked information from the confidential meetings. Continue reading

Groups planning Capitol Hill ‘No Kings 2.0’ rally before meeting up with Saturday’s Seattle Center march

Marchers crossed Capitol Hill during the June No Kings demonstration

This summer, an estimated 70,000 marched from Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park as part of a nationwide “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration. Saturday, thousands are again expected again to march in the city — but this time the gathering spot will be the Seattle Center before the demonstration fills the streets for a march downtown.

A group of organizers are planning a “No Kings 2.0” demonstration on Capitol Hill before meeting up with the downtown crowds.

CHS has reported previously over the years on the spirited, grassroots-organized, and sometimes lightly attended rallies, demonstrations, and marches led by the Capitol Hill Pride group formed long ago around efforts by the long-gone Museum of Mysteries on Broadway to create an alternative queer Pride event in the neighborhood every summer.

Saturday, Capitol Hill Pride is hoping to capture some of the No Kings 2.0 spirit for its planned, rally, “chalk-in,” and march scheduled to step off from Seattle Central in time for the procession to make its way to the Mexican Consulate on Harvard Ave and then to Seattle Center to meet with the larger rally. Continue reading

SPD responds to Capitol Hill demonstration at ‘local tech company CEO’s residence’

Recent Seattle protests against the war in Gaza have included noisy demonstrations away from typical gathering spaces like Cal Anderson Park.

Last Thursday night, police say they responded to a North Capitol Hill neighborhood where “Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on the street in front of a local tech company CEO’s residence.” Continue reading

On the CHS Calendar: 🍑Denny Blaine Labor Day Nude-In Protest🍑

You will have no trouble figuring out what to wear to this protest. Join “community members who just want to preserve our historically queer nude beach” and “your nudist neighbors” for the 🍑Denny Blaine Labor Day Nude-In Protest🍑

Protest to keep Denny-Blaine Park 100% clothing optional! Be nude in body or in spirit! There will be a potluck, art, music, and best of all, COMMUNITY!

The protest will be the latest actions in unclothed but civil disobedience as the Seattle Parks Department  responds to a court order by adding a restricted “nude zone” to the park popular with queer and nudist communities on the shores of Lake Washington east of Capitol Hill. The zone is hoped to address complaints of illegal sexual activity in the ongoing lawsuit brought by a group of neighbors and property owners over the popular nude beach.

CHS reported here on a weekend of nude puppet shows earlier in August as lovers of Denny Blaine have vowed to push back on the restrictions.

The Denny Blaine Labor Day Nude-In Protest will take place on Labor Day from 3 to 6 PM. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 70s with partly cloudy skies.

 

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‘Revive in 25’ — Christian groups reportedly set for return to Cal Anderson for August 30th rally

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office is relying on technicalities as it explains the status of city permits for an August 30th anti-LGBTQ fundamentalist Christian rally in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park.

“Park Use Permits aren’t issued for about two weeks (~15-30 days) prior to an event. See full permit process here. So at this time, a permit has not been issued for this event,” the mayor’s press secretary Callie Craighead told CHS Wednesday.

CHS asked Craighead what the Harrell administration is doing to protect the neighborhood and prevent the issues that occurred in May as Seattle Police moved on crowds of counter-demonstrators gathered in the park.

The mayor’s office has not responded.

Now, another concert and rally from the church groups is planned to return to the Capitol Hill park despite previous vows from city officials. Continue reading

‘Your Voice Matters’ — Police Commission seeks ‘community members impacted’ by Seattle Police crackdown on Cal Anderson May 24 protest

The Seattle Community Police Commission is seeking accounts of the experiences of demonstrators and park-goers caught up in the SPD response to protests against an anti-trans and reproductive rights Christian rally in Cal Anderson in May.

“Your experience can help inform our work and ensure community perspectives are part of upcoming reviews and policy recommendations,” the flyer being sent to LGBTQ community groups reads.

The Saturday, May 24th Christian rally ended with police moving on demonstrators protesting the event from On Fire Ministries, a Spokane-based religious group that has grown under Christian fundamentalist pastor and former state representative Matt Shea and is supported by anti-LGBTQ religious activist Sean Feucht. There were multiple arrests but no significant charges made against demonstrators. Continue reading

Dodgeball DJ — How music and community helped Dan Gregory heal

Five years ago, Dan Gregory’s life changed forever when he was shot by the brother of an SPD officer during the 2020 protests on Capitol Hill. The trauma left deep scars, both physically and mentally, but through music, DJing, and an unexpected Capitol Hill community on the dodgeball court, he found a lifeline.

“Music Saved My Life”
For Gregory, DJing is survival.

“If it wasn’t for music and having an outlet, I probably would have offed myself,” he admits. “That was a lot to go through, and I’d still do it all over again if I had to, but music is how I process my emotions.”

Under the moniker DJ Danny G (formerly DJ oohchillem), Gregory has turned his pain into a magnetic force, curating sets that bring people together at everything from bus stop pop-up jams, homeless camps, or local taco stands.

Today, he brings music to the busy courts of Cal Anderson just blocks away from 11th and Pine and the center of where CHOP formed five years ago this month.

“I love how music can change an environment,” he says. “People come in stressed, and then the right song comes on, and suddenly everyone’s singing along. That energy is everything.” Continue reading

No Kings, no arrests as 70,000 march from Cal Anderson Park

With reporting by Alex Garland

Crowds were measured by the mile Saturday as demonstrators marched from Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park in Seattle’s contribution to a weekend of “No Kings” protests across the nation.

Officials estimated more than 70,000 here stretched across one and a half miles of city streets Saturday afternoon as the demonstration flooded out of Cal Anderson onto E Pine and into the city headed for the Seattle Center.

it was one of the largest gatherings in the state since a sea of people stretched miles from Cal Anderson for the Women’s March in 2018.

Seattle officials were ecstatic to announce there had been no arrests.

The protest comes five years after the Black Lives Matter protests and the formation of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone that filled the area around Cal Anderson in June 2020.

Meanwhile, twelve miles away in Tukwila, police and “an ICE Special Response Team” fired painful pepper spray balls at demonstrators seeking to disrupt an “Intensive Supervision Appearance Program” check-in. Continue reading