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.

Publicola is reporting that city officials have exhausted efforts to find solutions that don’t raise First Amendment issues and are prepared to issue a permit for an August 30th “Revive in 25” rally in the park organized by anti-LGBTQ religious activist Sean Feucht.

Feucht and followers are promoting the event.

“Join Let Us Worship for Revive in 25 on August 30th at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle Cal Anderson Park,” one social media promotion reads. We’re bringing the LIGHT of the Gospel to America’s darkest cities!”

“Lives are being transformed—chains are breaking, the lost are being found, and hope is being restored,” the post from the “Let Worship Worship” campaign continues. “Jesus sets the captives free! Addiction, crime, and hopelessness don’t stand a chance against the power of God.”

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.

The August 30th rally would break more than a few promises from Seattle City Hall.

Following the first rally and police clashes, CHS reported here in May on claims from organizers that they had already secured a permit for another Cal Anderson rally late this summer. Parks officials responded, saying the August permit “has not been granted” and going on to say that officials were 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.

That negotiation has apparently been unsuccessful.

District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth, who is gay and frequently references her Christian faith, has said she opposes messages of hate but has defended free speech rights for the church group. “Hate speech is not tolerated in Seattle. The majority of Seattle wants peace,” Hollingsworth said in May at a council meeting following the first rally from the anti-trans church groups. “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.”

Hollingsworth did not respond to CHS’s inquiry about the new permit but told Publicola it is not her place “to say whether the city can or cannot provide a safe environment at Cal Anderson; that is a logistical thing.”

Cal Anderson, of course, frequently hosts community events and gatherings. Recent permitted activity includes last weekend’s Vegan Street Fair tour stop in Seattle. This weekend, Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day will take place in the neighborhood’s central park.

The August 30th event and the May debacle do not fit the model.

The city’s response to counter-demonstrators at the Cal Anderson rally in May was an ugly reminder of the recent history of crowd control violence by the Seattle Police Department.

The Saturday, May 24th Christian rally and concert 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 Feucht. There were multiple arrests but no significant charges made against demonstrators.

Seattle officials including Harrell and new SPD Chief Shon Barnes have promised a full review of the clash. The May 24th Cal Anderson Sentinel Event Review underway is required by policy and being conducted by the city’s Office of Inspector General. The Seattle Community Police Commission is seeking accounts of the experiences of demonstrators and park-goers caught up in the SPD response.

“Your experience can help inform our work and ensure community perspectives are part of upcoming reviews and policy recommendations,” a flyer sent earlier this summer to LGBTQ community groups read.

What steps city is preparing to take other than denying the permit to prevent further clashes in Cal Anderson later this month remain to be seen. In May and in past events, SPD has attempted to create First Amendment zones separating groups while allowing counter-demonstrators nearby areas for protest. If the permit is, indeed, approved, expect Evangelical Christians, fences, and lots of cops.

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