Saturday’s counter-protest crowd faced a line of Seattle Police officers in riot gear
As the Seattle Police Department says it made eight new arrests as protesters squared off with fundamentalist Christian groups calling for the mayor’s resignation outside City Hall Tuesday night, organizers are crowing about another evangelical event they say is planned for Cal Anderson Park in August.
Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle officials, it seems, have a scheduling problem.
Anti-LGBTQ Christian groups said Tuesday they have a permit to hold a “Revive in 25” rally on Saturday, August 30th in the popular Capitol Hill park.
UPDATE 5/28/2025 3:20 PM: A parks spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon that the August permit “has not been granted” but went on to say that officials are working with organizers on finding a new location for the event.
“[The organizers] recently requested to move their event to a different park, and we are discussing options with them,” the spokesperson said.
Organizers from On Fire Ministries appear to be central to both Saturday’s rally and the event planned for August.
The church has grown in Spokane under Christian fundamentalist pastor and former state representative Matt Shea and is supported by the likes of anti-LGBTQ religious activist Sean Feucht. Feucht has been at the middle of a nearly identical controversy before making waves during the height of the pandemic in the summer of 2020 by holding a “Let Us Worship” concert in Cal Anderson that was part evangelical revival and part provocative protest of the state’s mask mandate and safety precautions in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The event included communal baptism and plenty of anti-queer rhetoric in the middle of the still-closed park in the wake of the CHOP protests. Hundreds of demonstrators protested the event.
Tuesday, it was Fuecht who touted the planned August 30th rally to come later this summer.
CHS has questions out to the parks department about the claim and why the department is guiding the groups to hold events in an area core to the city’s queer communities.
We also are asking the mayor’s office and District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth what on god’s good earth they are doing about it.
Hollingsworth took time during Tuesday’s council meeting to address the weekend rally but did not mention anything about planned future events. “Hate speech is not tolerated in Seattle. The majority of Seattle wants peace,” Hollingsworth, who frequently has referenced her Christian faith since taking office, said Tuesday aftenroon. “And I will continue to work every day to model that peace and move us forward because that is what I was taught in church from day one.”
CHS reported here on Saturday’s #DontMessWithOurKids gathering in Cal Anderson and the more than 20 people arrested during protests against the anti-trans rally as a large battalion of Seattle Police armed with batons and pepper spray patrolled the edges of the permitted event.
Following Saturday’s clash between police and protesters in the park, Harrell called the gathering part of “an extreme right-wing national effort to attack our trans and LGBTQ+ communities” and said permits for the rally event were being scrutinized. Harrell said he has asked the parks department to “review all of the circumstances of this application to understand whether there were legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued.”
New Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, meanwhile, has not addressed the situation. Coming to Seattle following his leadership of the Madison, Wisconsin police department, the first major crowd control response by his officers echoed with the heavy handed and violent actions seen in the city from the department’s flawed response to the 2020 protests. Saturday’s arrests also follow Barnes’s back pedaling over directed patrols targeting nude sunbathers at Denny Blaine Park.
Christian group organizers, while calling for the mayor’s resignation, say they initially requested to hold the rally near Pike Place Market but were encouraged by the parks department early in the process to consider alternatives including Cal Anderson.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for the mayor’s office parks department provided a statement that doesn’t refute the claim by the May Day USA group but maintains that the group applied for the event to be in Cal Anderson.
Seattle Parks and Recreation permits a variety of events and gatherings in Seattle’s public parks – including rallies, protests, and free speech events. First amendment protections require Seattle Parks and Recreation to enable the expression of free speech throughout the parks system. Parks can only offer alternative parks for an event if the components of the event don’t fit well logistically with the amenities of a given park (utility hook ups, park layout, parking, or size of the event exceeds capacity of the park etc.).
For Saturday’s event, the organizers from MayDay submitted the event application to SPR for Cal Anderson Park (attached). Given that the park was not reserved and met the size/logistics needs for the event, the permit was granted. This is consistent with free speech requirements under the First Amendment.
The spokesperson said they will have more details about the situation around the August application soon.
Tuesday night, Christian fundamentalist groups rallied at Seattle City Hall to demand an apology from Harrell for his words as cops again tangled with counter-protesters. The groups say they are pursuing legal action over religious discrimination.
Now, in addition to looking back at how Saturday’s rally and arrests went down, Harrell’s City Hall must sort out what to do about future faith-focused events in Seattle’s public spaces — including August 30th in Cal Anderson Park.
UPDATE: A petition has been launched demanding city officials move the planned August rally.
“Based on the events of May 24th, we have serious concerns about a copycat event at Cal Anderson again,” the petition reads. “To safeguard protect the safety of all sides involves, we are asking to Seattle Parks and the Office of Economic Development relocate this event to Magnuson Park.”
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Fire everyone. How stuck on stupid can city hall get. Oh now we know.
Start with the cops
No start with black bloc. Fire black bloc.
Let’s take a look at Matt Shea’s and Sean Feucht’s history on wiki before we approve any permits. They surrounds himself with nut-jobs, picks and chooses what parts of the bible he wants to follow, ignores the rest. These guys and who ever follows, supports, and bows down to is completely unhinged, and mentally unstable.
Just because one has money doesn’t mean you should be given a permit to spew hate.
There are some categories of speech that are not protected by the First Amendment, such as incitement to violence, defamation, and obscenity. Additionally, the government can regulate speech that creates a clear and present danger.
These folks aren’t coming to Capitol Hill in good faith, they are coming to incite violence and slander our community, we all know it, history knows it, and our city leaders know it. Denying them access is not an infringement on free speech, and by approving it, the city and any one involved in the approval shall be held legally responsible for being an accomplice. Let’s just stop with the madness.
City Leaders, protect our community!
The whole point of making these total fiascos is so that future permitting doesn’t happen due to the police presence required, and we got Liberals out here posting that the best way to counter future repeats is to sit at home and ignore them, then post on a blog about how they weren’t ignore enough.
Sorry you can’t tolerate liberal approaches that contradict your own. I have three trans people in my family. I care deeply about this issue. You can find me arguing the crap over these issues with uninformed morons on Komo under SPULies. Neither of my two trans family members in Seattle attended this counterprotest.
We all understand that Matt Shea has no power unless he can be used to highlight the “intolerance of leftists” by the right, which is literally what’s happening thanks to SPD and a few dummies who took the bait. Shea was such a pariah that even House Republicans couldn’t stomach him and stripped him of his legislative powers. Russell Johnson is a non-entity who thinks having followers speak in tongues is persuasive outside of his fringe church and not at all weird or creepy.
We can agree to disagree about approaches, but dismissing those who disagree with you as useless or couch potatoes is dead wrong. If anything, liberals who couldn’t stomach voting for Hillary Clinton got us to where we are now. That’s a fact.
To your last paragraph, I basically did Liberal approach for most my life which is why I’m so sour on it.
And per your last paragraph, I couldn’t stomach being around partisans who thought the fault with Hillary’s run had to do with everything but themselves and Hillary being executive of the campaign. Hillary was better than fine, especially in relative measure except for being too haughty to campaign her ass off in the exact places she came up short.
And I do tolerate it as I lightly participate in voting, encourage others to do so for local measures still, and not to burn themselves out frantically around electoralism they can’t even interact with on a weekly basi
The shoe is entirely on the other foot where y’all don’t tolerate anything protest related unless it’s exactly in the form you think it should be PURELY because of associative reasons to yourself and Liberals, and catching stray propaganda bullets you can’t handle. It’s this weird backseat driving and hegemonic belief that Bloc and anyone who purposefully says they’re not Liberal are just mistaken and fucking up your plays. Get better plays if they’re so fragile! Stop leaving it to everyone else to sabotage the thing you believe in, whether that’s a haughty politician that doesn’t pull out all the stops or some partisan who doesn’t have anything but the initiative of making mischief.
“Hillary” was being annointed. Bernie could have won that election. Same with Joe and his rigging the re-election.
People are tired of being forced to vote for crap. Force fed garbage and expected to simply “take one for the team”.
Sorry…50 years of austerity is enough. Every POTUS from Reagan on has been dead set on winning more elections. To the point of covering up obvious decline in mental health etc.
Fact is the party is dead. The progressives are taking over the party little by little. It’s not the Boomers who’ll save us. They destroyed America. Now it’s up to the kids to save her.
So the progressives taking over is a good thing? In no way could Bernie have won middle Amd rica. I grew up there. I know those people and no way. Have lived in Seattle for 50 years but this is Classic West Coast bubble shit. Probably true, the party is dead.
Maybe good thing. Let’s build something new.
Religious discrimination? These hate filled bigots led by a domestic terrorist were allowed to hold an unpermitted rally at City Hall with amplified music, police protection, barricades and closed off streets and sidewalks. Freely given resources and preferential treatment our tax money pays for while other members of the public were denied entry to the same public spaces and surrounded sidewalks. The police could have shut down this illegal rally but chose to protect them and assist them in spewing their vile message on the tax payer dime. Absolutely disgusting behavior from SPD and City ‘leadership’
Matt Shea, Russell Johnson and their professsional troll army have struck gold with Seattle and Capitol Hill. Why would they stop coming back. They have what they crave – national attention, and likely months worth of fundraising video as a result. And Seattle Antifa comes out looking ridiculous for opposing them, because (as always) Seattle – Antifa cannot just let these trolls exist, they must SHUT THEM DOWN by ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Because as we all know, HATE IS NOT A FAMILY VALUE even if that means we will throw bottles at you to convince you.
Both extremist sides live for events like this.D3 residents, wary of another CHAZ CHOP happening, just want it all someplace else.
This whole thing is reminiscent of the Westbrook Baptist Church, an organization I have unfortunately had run-ins with. They would show up at queer-adjacent gatherings fully permitted and scream the most vile shit at passers by. All the while, they had members whose “job” it was to film these interactions, hoping for an altercation they could publicize and help frame themselves as victims. They also used these videos to make money (ie, threatening to sue or suing someone for assault, etc).
These evangelical ghouls knew what they’re doing setting up shop in Cal Anderson. And with the proper permitting had every right to be where they were, saying what they’re saying.
Did I like it? Of course not. But when we take their bait we give them EXACTLY what they want.
You do realize that Westboro went tits up from lawsuits, not because they had an awakening from counters, right?
Once again, make it too costly for them to do their thing, they’ll do it less.
Yes needs to happen.
There’s several examples where civil litigation bogged down a person or organization even if the judgment didn’t go against them in the end, and it absolutely throws them off their thing if judgments do go against them.
I rarely ever talk about this as part of everything that can be done because it’s not something that actual ground level partisans of every stripe can just walk out their door and do. there has to be a series of events and a seminal event to do this around. Heather Heyer’s death and subsequent lawsuit…it turns out some juries will put you on the hook for shit that happens at your rallies if you have a semi public face and an associative entity.
People might worry about this being wack-a-mole and not a ‘once and for all solution’ but there are no ‘once and for alls’ in this, not possible, we can’t hold out for silver bullets that don’t exist and we won’t even shoot.
Someone mentioned how Matt Shea et al have lawyers who are always working to allow him to continue and it’s like…so has every entity that might have legal exposure…I just get really bothered when people talk themselves out of things because of shit like ‘they have a legal team though’, like omg, then put too much on their plate.
Exactly who first came to mind to me too. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Hair On Fire borrowed their playbook. They need to be studied for any suggested path forward.
Westboro, not Westbrook.
And you can take the ‘ both sides’ bus back to Spokane with those losers.
Supporting trans people on a basic level is not “extreme” stop “Both sidesing” hatred.
This guy lives in D3, constantly complains about everyone but him doing it wrong, and thinks the reason that people don’t support his docile Reagan-lite Liberalism here in D3 is unrelated to his mealy mouth bothsiderism. A true specimen of Liberalism in 2025.
It might surprise you, that not everyone that dislikes activists in D3/43, is a right leaning, Trump GOP boot licking, cop supporter, My ire and disgust goes back to WTO when out of town activists maimed my local small owner teriyaki, dry cleaner, and smoke shop at Olive and Summit. Followed by multiple years of May Day burning and breaking windows at local shops. If Liberalism means breaking windows at a local 3N lease bar, count me out.
Bloc shows up to do damage and hurts public space. Destroy government buildings all you want. If they irritate police, more power to SPD. Amass in DC, have at it, don’t break the windows of bubble tea place.
Concern trolling hyper specific scenarios is totaaaally not bad faith arguing. No way.
I didn’t clock you as that, don’t worry about it next time you ring the cops about protestors.
Never a need to ring the cops on protestors – they advertise the time and place in advance. Never an element of surprise.
It’s a both sides issue. Even our elected officials know that.
Speaking of not letting trolls exist, I take this to mean that you won’t be doing any policing of counters at Cal in August?
How are you still more mad at “antifa” than people spreading hate speech? Are you a cop?
Seriously? Listen to yourself. It’s not either/or. They both suck.
Being anti fascist and supporting people trans people does not “suck” actually. It’s not a “BOTH SIDES” thing. FFS
The two groups mentioned were “antifa” and “people spreading hate speech” and yes both suck. Antifa cares only about anarchy and nihilism.
Thanks for the great coverage on this!
So parks had the foresight to move it from Pike Place market, but steered them to Cal Anderson on purpose?! Once again, city leadership and elites focused on failed quick fixes to issues to protect their bottom lines that just kicks problems down the road where they end up in our communities for us to deal with.
It’s the most buffoonish thing you could come up with
“Well, they want to mess up our tourist attraction, we won’t let that happen”
“Okay, so what’s the play, we can’t ban them entirely…what to do what to do…”
“What if we permitted them in the singular most testy spot in the entire city, the historically queer neighborhood, the major congregation spot for partisans with beef.”
“Excellent, nothing could possibly go wrong with this idea, I’m sure our stoic and measured denizens will just ignore it and all will be at peace. Especially the trans denizens, we can taunt them with anything and what are they going to do about it?”
That is what the religious group is saying and it’s a lie. Pike Place Market did not work with the type of protest they were having. The city gave them options one of them being Cal Anderson, they could have chosen SLU, but they did not. Can you guess why? They want you to turn on our elected mayor they would be so proud if they could take down the mayor of Seattle.
Yeah big fail on Parks side. Hopefully will never see this group in Cal Anderson again. Let ’em go to Magnuson or that place under the freeway with the bike trail in it. Isn’t that a park?
Are people allowed to fly drones at the park? It would be funny to get a bunch of rainbow parachutes like we use to play with in elementary school and hang them from drones and basically put a giant rainbow wall around these people so nobody can even see them.
Ha-ha love this idea
Love this! You have to have a permit to fly drones in the park but I’d pay the fine, if the cops would even issue it.
Incompetence. I’m surprised the city doesn’t have a rule like: if an event appears likely to require significant police presence for public safety reasons, event organizers must provide a deposit equal to a certain percentage of the anticipated cost of the law enforcement response, including overtime.
People should be free to exercise their freedom of speech, but they shouldn’t be permitted to have the city cover the foreseeable cost/consequences of their event. Especially when an event is such a transparent incitement intended to be used as a basis for future fundraising.
A rule, you mean like a law? It would be unconstitutional because the Christian Fascist morons would exploit it and cry like babies that they’re persecuted.
The City of Seattle has limited options for first amendment events. If they do try to find a loophole or deny the permit outright, the ADF will sue. They already are over last weekend’s event. The ADF has a team of lawyers who know how to run anti-LGBTQ cases up to the Supreme Court. Shea wants a showdown. He wins if he gets denied a permit, he wins if he gets a permit and just one protester breaks the law. The City could potentially run the permit through the special events permitting process, which has more wiggle room about how events go down, but still can’t outright deny first amendment events. As annoying as it is, the way to shut these people down is to ignore the fuck out of them. Or if there is a protest, follow the example of protesters who protected Matthew Shepard’s funeral – quiet, graceful angles with wings blocking the hateful signs from public view. More on permits here: https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/ParksAndRecreation/Reserve/Permits/Guidelines_for_a_1st_Amendment_Activity-2021.pdf
They’re not the same type of event profiles, the point of shielding a martyrs funeral was for the funeral attendees, not to break the impetus of protesting a martyr’s funeral at large.
Y’all speak like you’ve actually ever done any of the things you think should be done, but they’re all self satisfied hypothetical exercises other people are supposed to execute.