This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
Russell Johnson, the lead pastor at Pursuit NW, is demanding Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell to resign after the disruption in Cal Anderson Park last weekend.
“The Mayor of Seattle owes Christians in WA State an apology for his bigoted remarks after folks who were holding a peaceful worship event at Cal Anderson Park were violently assaulted for the high crime of expressing their deeply held religious beliefs in the form of a permitted worship event on city property,” Johnson wrote on X.
“23 antifa thugs were arrested,” Johnson continued. “Cops were hospitalized. Church people were assaulted. And the Mayor of Seattle has the audacity to blame Christians for the violence.”
Counterprotestors arrested after disrupting religious rally
Counterprotestors stormed a Christian group’s rally held Saturday afternoon in Cal Anderson Park, leading to multiple arrests.
On Fire Ministries, a religious organization, held a rally meant for people to stand “together for Biblical truth and values” and to fight back against the National Education Association’s “attempts to indoctrinate children in the ways of LGBTQ+, social justice, and other liberal efforts.” This fight has been coined #dontmesswithourkids.
Participants reportedly planned the event to condemn sex trafficking and abortion, and to defend the “sanctity of the nuclear family.”
Seattle police were called to Cal Anderson Park once the religious group and counterprotesters clashed.
“Police worked to keep two different groups apart, witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group around 1:30 p.m. Saturday,” the Seattle Police Department (SPD) said in a post on the SPD Blotter. “Officers immediately moved to arrest the people responsible, and while taking the individuals into custody, were assaulted by more protesters, resulting in even more arrests. In total, officers arrested 11 during the initial scuffle.”
SPD officials reported that some of the protesters were throwing items at officers, including water bottles. Some also knocked down fencing, police said. In total, 23 people were arrested.
One officer was hurt during the protest. They were treated at a nearby hospital and were subsequently released.
Harrell speaks out after arrests
Harrell called Seattle “a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities” that “stands with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice,” when speaking after the arrests at Cal Anderson Park.
“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,” Harrell said after the arrests.
He cited that anarchists joined the counterprotesters, which resulted in the violent disruption. He said the event organizers shut down the event early after being asked to do so.
“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,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement Saturday.
The rally for Harrell’s dismissal, hosted by Russell Johnson and Pursuit NW, starts at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the front steps of City Hall.
Follow Frank Sumrall on X. Send news tips here.
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