(The Center Square) – Dueling protests outside of Seattle City Hall have led to eight arrests for assault as Seattle faith leaders publicly side with Mayor Bruce Harrell in defending counterprotesters.
On Saturday, the Seattle Police Department arrested 23 people at Cal Anderson Park during a rally hosted by On Fire Ministries that focused on protecting children from transgender ideologies as part of the “#dontmesswithourkids” movement.
Cal Anderson Park is within the Capitol Hill neighborhood – a prominent LGBTQ area – and where the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest – later known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – occurred in May 2020.
The protest in front of Seattle City Hall on Tuesday was prompted by recent comments from Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, who called Saturday’s rally far-right and said that it was held in Capitol Hill to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that “are inherently opposed to our city’s values.”
The eight arrests that were made on Tuesday came after trans-rights supporters led their own demonstration outside city hall. No injuries were reported at the scene.
The religious organizations participating in Tuesday’s rally voiced their opposition to Harrell for his comments, demanding his resignation. However, some faith leaders in Seattle publicly sided with Harrell in a joint statement, supporting the city’s LGBTQ community.
In the statement, Pastor Carey Anderson of the First A.M.E. Church, defended Harrell’s comments and said that the religious organizations that attended the previous rallies “weaponize Christianity and preach extremist views [that] reflect poorly on the church and the whole ecumenical and interfaith community.”
The Rev. Reginald Avant of the Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church also condemned the rally on Saturday, calling attendants a “misguided group of believers who targeted the LGBTQI community.”
“What happened on Saturday had nothing to do with loving thy neighbor,” Avant said. “We stand with the LGBTQI community on the right side for justice and love – because this is exactly what Jesus calls the church to do.”
The past events have resulted in divisive opinions and gained national attention. Federal government leaders are siding with the religious organizations that led the two rallies on Saturday and Tuesday, including U.S. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who posted on social media that he has requested his team to investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at Cal Anderson Park.
