Ultra-conservative evangelicals continued their quest to provoke anger from Seattle’s LGBTQ community May 27 by holding another rally outside City Hall. They came to protest comments made by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell two days before when the city shut down their outdoor worship rally after police arrested 23 protesters.
Exactly who was arrested and which side of the dispute they were on remains unclear. Organizers of the Tuesday “Rattle in Seattle” rally claim all those arrested were protesting against their worship rally. They claim the city and the mayor attacked their First Amendment rights to freedom of worship.
The first event, held Saturday, May 24, in the city’s Cal Anderson Park, was planned and publicized as a way to provoke the LGBTQ community and its allies. The park is named for the first openly gay member of the Washington Legislature, who was a Democrat representing the Seattle area from 1987 to 1995.
Worshipers dance and run while singing.(Screencap)
Evangelical leaders said they intentionally chose the park because of its proximity to the city’s queer community and because of its historical significance. They portrayed themselves as conducting spiritual warfare through a worship rally.
As organizers had hoped, protesters showed up to challenge the group’s anti-gay and anti-trans message, which included a thematic banner that read, “Don’t Mess with Our Kids.”
After chaos ensued at the rally, as worship leaders continued to bounce and dance on stage, Mayor Harrell released a statement urging residents to avoid violence during protests and calling for a Parks Department review of the rally organizer’s application.
Later, Seattle Police announced they had arrested 23 people.
Organizers of the rally immediately claimed religious discrimination and said they were the victims of bigotry.
“Following the Mayday USA worship event at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, Mayor Harrell had the audacity to issue a press release blaming Christians for the premediated violence of Antifa which resulted in the hospitalization of Seattle Police Department personnel and the arrest of 23 Antifa agitators,” event organizers said in a news release. “Under Mayor Harrell’s leadership, the city of Seattle has continued its spiral into lawlessness and dysfunction while the First Amendment rights of citizens to peacefully assemble has been disregarded.”
“Antifa” is a label often applied to a loose network of anti-fascists who oppose Trump and his MAGA movement.
Invoking the name “antifa” echoes the events of January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., as supporters of defeated President Donald Trump stampeded the U.S. Capitol, wanting to kill the speaker of the House and the vice president. Evangelicals and other Trump supporters claimed their people were not there and were not violent — even though massive amounts of video evidence showed they were — and instead blamed “antifa” as the culprits.
“Antifa” is a label often applied to a loose network of anti-fascists who oppose Trump and his MAGA movement. There is no cohesive body known as “antifa,” but the label is a favorite of far-right Trump supporters.
According to local news outlets, Tuesday’s rally also produced arrests. Fox 13 reported four people were arrested less than 15 minutes after the “Rattle in Seattle” demonstration began. Two more arrests were made later.
Mayor Harrell said Saturday the evangelicals showed up with the intention to provoke a response.
“Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice,” Harrell said in a statement. “Today’s far-right rally was held here for this very reason — to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city’s values, in the heart of Seattle’s most prominent LGBTQ neighborhood.”
Social media post showing Russell Johnson climbing the gate at Columbia University (Via Facebook)
Pastor Russell Johnson, one of the event organizers, hired a lawyer over the weekend to threaten the mayor.
“The city’s early shut down of Saturday’s event constituted an illegal ‘heckler’s veto’ for which we are actively considering legal action,” the letter to Harrell said. It was signed by attorney Nathaniel Taylor of the law firm Ellis, Li and McKinstry.
Three years ago, Taylor represented Seattle Pacific University in a lawsuit against the state attorney general over an investigation into the school’s anti-gay hiring practices. Last year, Taylor represented World Vision in its unsuccessful defense against charges of hiring discrimination against a woman who is a lesbian.
In his letter to Mayor Harrell, Taylor scolded: “When you were sworn in as mayor of Seattle, you took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, which protects both free speech and assembly as well as ensures the equal protection of law for all citizens, regardless of viewpoint or religious belief. We intend to hold the city accountable for is illegal responses to our client’s constitutionally protected activity.”
Yet as BNG reported, a promotional video for the Saturday worship rally portrayed it as a fight, including clips of rioters being arrested, of Donald Trump getting shot, of worshipers in battle through singing, and of new converts being baptized.
Jonathan Choe of the far-right Discovery Institute posted a notice on X saying because Seattle is “one of the most unchurched cities in America,” residents don’t understand the power evangelical Christians hold. “Many politicians and residents have no idea what’s about to hit City Hall this evening. They’ve never seen anything like this. Hundreds of evangelical Christians will gather to demand an apology and resignation from Mayor Bruce Harrell after he victim blamed them for Antifa violence over the weekend.”
He urged his followers to “bust out the popcorn” and watch the fight.
The frontman for all this is Pastor Johnson, who is part of the New Apostolic Reformation. In his Sunday sermon at The Pursuit NW, Johnson painted an apocalyptic image of Seattle under liberal control and declared God is not done yet with the city. He called on his church members to rally and stand up for their beliefs.
On Tuesday afternoon, Johnson announced to the second rally crowd that the Trump administration’s FBI is opening an investigation into the events of last Saturday and therefore, “We win!”
Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, posted on X: “We have asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert. Freedom of religion isn’t a suggestion.”
Bongino is a conspiracy theorist who said in In 2018, “My entire life right now is about owning the libs. That’s it.”
The next event in the Mayday USA Tour is scheduled for Saturday, May 31, in Los Angeles on Hollywood Boulevard. Previous events were held in New York, Miami and Houston.
A news release for the current series of five worship rallies says: “We are currently living in a hinge of history moment that will impact generations to come. One that demands a response from every man and woman on the face of the planet. As millions of babies are aborted every year, hundreds of thousands of children are trafficked, and the nations of the earth are in crisis — we can no longer sit silent and remain quiet.”
The news release says the #DontMessWithOurKids movement “stands for the sanctity of human life, the sacrality of biological gender, the importance of the nuclear family, and the right to freedom of speech and religion.”
Further, the movement “refuses to stand idly by while the children of our nation are indoctrinated by a liberal, political and sexual agenda that seeks to destroy their God-given identities. We believe we must freely exercise our constitutional rights as Americans as we stand boldly for truth, justice and righteousness in the public square.”
Related articles:
‘Worship warfare’ event in Seattle was planned to be violent | Analysis by Rick Pidcock
Matthew Taylor’s new book explores how ‘the fringe became the carpet’ | Analysis by Steve Rabey
In New Orleans, Christians form a second line to counter Sean Feucht
Of worship warfare, theocracy and a weekend with Sean Feucht | Analysis by Rick Pidcock