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Pepper spray melee with religious group outside Capitol Hill gay bar ends in arrest — and SPD’s thoughts on intolerance

Police made one arrest and Seattle Fire medics were declined after a melee outside Capitol Hill’s Queer/Bar early Sunday morning ended in a cloud of pepper spray and a busted loudspeaker.

According to Seattle Police and Seattle Fire, officers and medics were called to the 11th Ave bar just after midnight early on May 1st to a reported bias assault involving a group making homophobic statements and harassing patrons as they entered the venue.

Seattle Fire says it was called to the scene to evaluate one person exposed to pepper spray but the call was canceled.

According to the SPD report on the incident, police arrived to find a large crowd and two groups in a dispute. Police say at least two people complained of being pepper sprayed by a religious group gathered outside the bar and “making rude comments towards everyone who was part of the LGBTQ community.”

According to the responding officer, a member of the group told police they were there “spreading their religion and beliefs” but deployed pepper spray in defense when the patrons “became hostile” and one person waiting in line to enter the bar kicked the group’s speaker. The group also showed the officer video of the incident.

Police say the speaker kicker admitted to damaging the equipment and said the group had been making hateful statements that made her feel threatened but that she did not want to be a victim for the pepper spray assault.

The religious group, according to the report, was less charitable, asking the officer to act on the property damage. According to the report, the officer arrested the speaker kicker at the scene and took them into custody for property damage for reportedly damaging the group’s loudspeaker.

Police say the group also demanded a hate crime investigation, saying the property damage “was biased due to their religious beliefs,” but that the responding officer disagreed. “All of the assaults and property damage were unfortunately caused by an altercation that was instigated by both groups,” the report reads.

According to the report, the officer also weighed in on free speech and intolerance.

“I concluded my investigation by explaining to both groups that people are free to make statements and that they need to work on respecting each other statements and views,” the officer writes. “I spoke with both groups and suggested they re evaluate what their group’s main goals are in regards to the changes they want to see in their community in Seattle.”

“I advised them to think about attempting to reach their goals in a peaceful manner and to treat each other the way they want to be treated,” the report concludes.

 

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38 Comments
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Moving Soon
Moving Soon
1 year ago

This is terrible. I can only imagine more stuff like this will happen as Capitol Hill continues to become more normie and rich techified.

Bruce Nourish
Bruce Nourish
1 year ago
Reply to  Moving Soon

???

If you think techies are the ones protesting gay bars then you really should move soon.

Marissa
Marissa
1 year ago
Reply to  Bruce Nourish

They certainly don’t speak up or attempt to be part of the community the gentrified though, Bruce.

kermit
kermit
1 year ago
Reply to  Marissa

Yours is a massive generalization. “They” are not monolithic as you seem to think.

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
1 year ago
Reply to  Marissa

Lol. A sizable chunk of the people I know on the hill are gay techies.

d.c.
d.c.
1 year ago
Reply to  Moving Soon

I’m not the biggest fan of the yuppification of the hill but they’re not moving to a Seattle’s traditionally gay neighborhood to spread homophobia. This is definitely some imported religious weirdness. Saw it during CHOP too.

Booboobeeboo
Booboobeeboo
1 year ago
Reply to  Moving Soon

“Waaaaah normies.” Lol!

Neighbor
Neighbor
1 year ago

I applaud the speaker kicker and do not see this as a “2 wrongs” situation. The zealots went to a safe space with clear intent to antagonize.

Seattleite At Your Service
Seattleite At Your Service
1 year ago
Reply to  Neighbor

I’m not understanding why the pepper sprayers were not also arrested then for assault. Or, how it’s justified to show up to blast a loudspeaker at a line with hate. Even the BLM protests required permits.

jack m
jack m
1 year ago

because cops are bigots too. how is this confusing

Still Care About My Old 'Hood
Still Care About My Old 'Hood
1 year ago

Because the person pepper sprayed declined to press charges, and since it’s a misdemeanor assault the cops can’t make an arrest without that.

This seems more like a case of the person who was assaulted not wanting to deal with the cops, than a case of the cops being bigots.

DD15
DD15
1 year ago

SPD to the rescue! Bothsidesing what is obviously instigation from a religious hate group AND defending property over people.

amy
amy
1 year ago

So a group of bigots showed up to a business to harass community members and shout intolerance at them over a loudspeaker…and then that bigot group assaulted the crowd with pepper spray when the crowd objected to the bigoted harassment…and then the bigots went crying to SPD about how their loudspeaker got hate-crimed, and the cop gave a “both sides” lecture and arrested a harassment victim for damaging a piece of equipment used in the harassment?

F off with that, bigots. You’re not welcome here. Leave our neighbors alone. Does anyone know who these people are? are they local?

Muah
Muah
1 year ago
Reply to  amy

You are allowed to speak out against LGBT people if you want.
You are not allowed to kick people’s property.

Why did you put the events out of order? Was it to skew what really happened?

First they kicked the speaker, then the pepper spray came out.

amy
amy
1 year ago
Reply to  Muah

Oh look everyone! The bigots have a defender. Going to a place where LGBT people are hanging out and harassing them is not “speaking out”. It is harassment. If you harass LGBT people, you are a bigot. If you if start sh*t with people minding their own business, don’t be surprised if you get sh*t back. I hope they get their speakers and their asses kicked if they are dumb and hateful enough to try it again. Bigots are not welcome here. I’m with d.c. – happy to volunteer to reinforce this message.

Marissa
Marissa
1 year ago
Reply to  Muah

We need Q Patrol back. And armed. Bigots are going to f around and find out that the 2nd amendment goes both ways one of these days and I will start the gofundme for whoever exercises their 2a, gladly. You aren’t oppressed because you believe in an imaginary white man in the sky- you just don’t get to force those beliefs on others in a violent way. Let their god take care of those dorks.

Edward
Edward
1 year ago
Reply to  Muah

Legally you might be right. Ethically you’re wrong though.

Sounds like the bigots f’d around and found out. They’re lucky it was just their speaker that got hurt.

Fairly Obvious
Fairly Obvious
1 year ago
Reply to  Muah

You are allowed to speak out against LGBT people if you want.

You are not allowed to kick people’s property.

Why did you put the events out of order? Was it to skew what really happened?

First they kicked the speaker, then the pepper spray came out.

I think what you mean to say was:

you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides

FTFY

d.c.
d.c.
1 year ago
Reply to  amy

Here’s hoping they complain online and can be shown up next time. I volunteer to kick the next loudspeaker over.

KinesthesiaAmnesia
KinesthesiaAmnesia
1 year ago

I’m envisioning a cop with a thin blue line decal across the back window of their diesel pickup, telling all their brothers back at the office about what a difference they made, encouraging a libtard to see the other side…

Also wondering how damaged the damaged speaker was.

Below Broadway
Below Broadway
1 year ago

The report needs to identify the religious group by name. It does a disservice to Capitol Hill by giving them cover in anonymity.

Guesty
Guesty
1 year ago

So police actually charged someone with property damage? Are you kidding? That’s like a sport in Seattle now!

Religion is the problem
Religion is the problem
1 year ago

I was there and remember exactly what happened. The Jesus screamers come with a loud speaker and will post up in front of various gay bars to scream and preach that their way of life is the only way, and that all others are going to hell. But accuse anyone in the LGBT+ community of pushing their agenda when they’re just trying to go inside a bar in peace. They come with a horde of cameras to record people telling them to go away and will post that content without context or anything that shows that they are instigators.

Golden Rule
Golden Rule
1 year ago

Any idea what their church is or who they’re affiliated with? I figure it might be fun to show up with some big ol speakers on a Sunday morning and start some nice amplified sermons about how they’re a cult that perpeptuates child abuse and won’t leave decent people alone.

pablo
pablo
1 year ago
Reply to  Golden Rule

Great idea. Let’s do it!

Travia
Travia
1 year ago
Reply to  Golden Rule

The street preacher is Mathew. He now how’s several people who help him. He’s been at most protests spewing his garbage. I’m sure he will be out in full force this weekend. Cut the microphone – allegedly it’s been done before😉

HTS3
HTS3
1 year ago

“I spoke with both groups and suggested they re evaluate what their group’s main goals are in regards to the changes they want to see in their community in Seattle.”
“I advised them to think about attempting to reach their goals in a peaceful manner and to treat each other the way they want to be treated,” the report concludes.

After reading the article I was hoping for the comments to reflect the calm reasoned response from the police officer. They arrested the person guilty of damaging property. Then they talked to both sides about being tolerant of different opinions. Sadly, all of the comments, at least so far, speak to the issue from their own biases and don’t give any props to the cop. Too bad. To me, this police response is precisely what it seems people have been demanding. And when they deliver a deescalation, crickets.

Maggie
Maggie
1 year ago
Reply to  HTS3

It does seem like this “protest” blatantly violated Washington State’s Disorderly Conduct Laws, which prohibits “using abusive language and intentionally creates a risk of assault;” as well as “Intentionally disrupting any lawful assembly or meeting of persons without lawful authority;” so I wish the cop had done a bit more than talk to the group. Of course, this is probably just one of the many laws that aren’t enforced in Seattle.

amy
amy
1 year ago
Reply to  HTS3

People do not need to be tolerant of harassment, nor assault. The police response that both sides are at fault downplays that the aggressors in the situation came to cause trouble, got some trouble, reacted disproportionately by hurting people with pepper spray. Just shows how SPD sides with bigots and protects property instead of people.

P Daddy
P Daddy
1 year ago
Reply to  HTS3

Agreed.

I understand the motivation to bust their speaker. I do. They won by provoking exactly the kind of reaction they were hoping for. A better reaction would have been to get up early Sunday morning and visit their church with your own speaker in hand to “harass” them with some 🏳️‍🌈 knowledge.

Marissa
Marissa
1 year ago
Reply to  HTS3

LMAO they did the bare minimum and didn’t charge the bigot who pepper sprayed patrons in their own neighborhood.

HTS3
HTS3
1 year ago
Reply to  Marissa

Hello Marissa. I understand your anger. If we reflect on the actions of the police over the last two years, I thought is was actually a positive that they didn’t seem to be a violent party to this situation, but actually tried to deescalate it. If they had tried to arrest “all those who were responsible for pepper spraying people” it likely would have created a bigger event. That wouldn’t have solved anything and people would probably be complaining about the over involved police. Just my opinion of course.

Privilege
Privilege
1 year ago
Reply to  HTS3

Thank God someone is here to defend the cops, the truly disadvantaged and disenfranchised ones here.

HTS3
HTS3
1 year ago
Reply to  Privilege

“I’m not defending the cops” as you put it. I am responding to a situation as someone who wants better behavior. The way to do that, is to reward good behavior. Tell someone when you think they acted appropriately. If you always simply say that ACABs, do you really think that will help the situation?

D3 Resident
D3 Resident
1 year ago
Reply to  HTS3

Let’s get real. Rarely does the “both sides equally responsible” argument hold water. Intent is at the crux of understanding the situation. Jehovah’s Witnesses handing out their literature is spreading their religion. A group armed with loudspeakers and pepper spray is seemingly intent on confrontation and provoking a response; clearly, they anticipated and were prepared for a response!  A confrontational action provokes a response, and the ugliness develops from that. How is that a both sides issue? The LGBTQ+ plus people were seeking a good time in a bar not a group of religious folks they could harass. Yes, seemingly SPD deescalated the situation, but then arrested the person who kicked the loudspeaker. IF both sides were equally responsible, then what happened to the religious zealot who pepper sprayed the crowd?   

Still Care About My Old 'Hood
Still Care About My Old 'Hood
1 year ago

Hey folks, because I keep seeing it brought up in this discussion thread I think it’s important to clarify that the cops didn’t arrest the pepper sprayer because the person pepper sprayed declined to press charges, and since it’s a misdemeanor assault the cops can’t make an arrest without that. That’s somewhat obtusely detailed in the article.

If the person pepper sprayed had wanted the arrest made the cop would of had to have done it, or face potential reprimand and repercussions by supervision. Long ago I insisted a cop arrest a pro Iraq war supporter who attacked me at of nowhere for my opposition to the war, the cop tried everything in his power to talk and intimidate me out of it, but I continued to insist and the cop had to relent in the end. The man was arrested and eventually pled guilty to assault and paid the price.

It’s easy to blame the cop in this case, especially because it sounds like the religtard bigots were quick to press charges, but the truth of the matter is this is the bind we now find ourselves in with police when we rightfully need their services.

D3 Resident
D3 Resident
1 year ago

The fact that no one pepper sprayed pressed charges is a crucial point (which should have been clearer in the reporting). Unless an officer has a formal complaint, their hands are tied. That does not, however, legitimize the “both sides” reporting by the officer. Clearly this “religious” group executed on their intent which was to antagonize rather than proselytize. I am completely fed up with groups spewing their hate and then hiding behind the freedom to express their religion bullshit.

Still Care About My Old 'Hood
Still Care About My Old 'Hood
1 year ago
Reply to  D3 Resident

I agree with you, and we can’t fault the cop for not making an arrest when he literally couldn’t make one. As for whether his ‘both sides’ sounding platitudes were helpful in the least or just enabled the religious bigots, I’ll leave that to the people who suffered the abuse to decide. It’s unfortunate that the person who was pepper sprayed didn’t want to press charges, but they had their reasons, and those reason are inextricably bound up with the mistrust of the police in this city, the need for reform and how that at times conflicts with our own need for effective and just policing.