A worship rally organized by Christians from On Fire Ministries turned violent Saturday afternoon at Cal Anderson Park, located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, a formerly family-oriented neighborhood that has been taken over by the LGBTQ+ community.
The Mayday USA event was part of a five-city national tour and in Seattle drew violent opposition from transgender activist groups and resulted in 23 arrests after the trans-activists attacked the worship attendees and police.
Promoted as a worship gathering to uphold “Biblical truth and values,” the rally also offered resources on abortion and same-sex relationships, drawing criticism from trans-activists who viewed it as an affront to the community. Mayor Bruce Harrell criticized the event and said it was counter to the values of Seattle.
“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. 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. When the humanity of trans people and those who have been historically marginalized is questioned, we triumph by demonstrating our values through our words and peaceful protest – we lose our voice when this is disrupted by violence, chaos, and confusion. Anarchists infiltrated the counter-protestors group and inspired violence, prompting SPD to make arrests and ask organizers to shut down the event early, which they did,” Harrell said.
Groups including the Seattle Democratic Socialists of America and other leftist organizations were part of the mayhem against what they said was an “anti-trans, anti-queer” event.
The location of the worship service was same place where the deadly CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) occupation took over in 2020 in protest of the death of wife-beater and drug addict George Floyd.
One of those arrested was Mikaele Andrew Baker, who, according to independent journalist Andy Ngo, is a member of the Youth Liberation Front. Baker was a certified state delegate for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and has been arrested repeatedly at Antifa riots for years but faced no consequences, Ngo said.
The violence began shortly after 1:30 p.m., when members of the tran-tifa group began tearing down fences, throwing bottles, and attacking rally participants and police officers. According to the Seattle Police Department, at least one officer was injured badly enough to need medical attention. Authorities arrested 22 adults and a minor on charges ranging from assault to property destruction and obstruction.
Washington State Patrol troopers were called in for backup as the violence continued to escalate. Throughout the riot, Seattle Police Department posted updates on X, such as:
“Officers are making multiple arrests at a protest inside Cal Anderson Park. Orders are being given to protesters to back away from officers and to stop throwing items at officers.”
“Additional arrests have been made inside the crowd. No injuries have been reported at this time.”
“Individuals in the crowd have begun throwing water bottles at officers. Additional arrests will occur as we can safely remove those individuals from the crowd.”
“Protesters have now knocked over fencing. Additional officers will be responding to the area to assist in maintaining a safe environment.”
“The Seattle Police Department has requested mutual aid from the Washington State Patrol. You will see Troopers wearing different uniforms from officers inside the park.”
Mayor Harrell has called for a review of the city’s permitting process for rallies in sensitive areas, and highlighted the potential for confrontation at the Cal Anderson Park if Christians want to ever use it again.
On Sunday, the Seattle Police Officers Guild published a statement rebuking the city’s lack of will to deal with violent Antifa members:
Public Safety in the City of Seattle continues to be politicized and violent ANTIFA criminals once again dominate Seattle’s public safety conversation with their insane use of political violence. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
Over seven hundred police officers have fled this city in the past decade. This is due to the public safety political decisions by our elected leaders, activist pressure, and for their lack of action against ANTIFA criminals who continue to dictate public safety political terms. The remaining police officers in this city are tired. Our community is tired. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
Time and time again, Seattle’s public safety servants have been the tool or entity to blame for Seattle’s woes. Despite this reality, SPOG members know that we lead the nation in police accountability and that our accountability system is under full civilian management. Yet we incessantly hear political activists calling for more. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
In the past fifteen years, Seattle’s tax base has spent well over 200-million-dollars to pay federal monitors and their staff in what appears to be the never-ending Department of Justice (DOJ) Consent Decree experience. Will it ever end? How many policies need to be changed? This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
Given today marks the 5th anniversary of George Floyd’s death, we stood with Seattle during the 2020 George Floyd demonstrations. As the demonstrations turned riotous, we were then ordered to protect public buildings and infrastructure at all costs. As a result of these riots and political pressure, our elected leaders decided to surrender a police precinct. We were also prohibited from entering major sections of our city to answer 911 calls. People died as a result. Untold amounts of property destruction occurred. Scores of police officers were injured. The city paid out millions of dollars. Sadly, this was one of the major reasons that has led to our current police staffing crisis. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
SPOG welcomes a mayoral review of yesterday’s Seattle Parks Department’s decision to allow a demonstration permit for families who wanted to exercise their 1st amendment rights at Cal Anderson Park. What we are struggling to understand is, why was this park chosen and authorized, especially when this park is commonly known as the heart of ANTIFA land. We have no doubt that this city decision, as naïve or deliberate as it was, put police officers in an untenable predicament. Whether it’s our job or not, we were once again ordered to put ourselves into a political quagmire. SPOG understands we will once again get blamed, and more calls will be heard for more accountability. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
To be clear, WE DO NOT have the proper staffing to handle any more of these demonstrations that turn into mass arrests. Even more importantly, we as a police union understand that this city lacks the political will to allow police to use the necessary tools to hold back criminal mobs to protect life and property. This once again, puts lives in danger. Haven’t we learned from 2020? Will our prosecutors and judges hold these criminals accountable? Will the activists call for more police accountability? This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.
Presently, 28% of the city’s remaining 847 deployable police officers (284) are eligible to retire. If yesterday is a precursor of future events, we may see what was previously described as Seattle’s “Summer of Love” once again turn into Seattle’s Summer of Violence and the decimation of a once renowned police force. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality. Moving forward, the Seattle Police Department is hiring.
