Bruce Harrell, the mayor of Seattle, blamed violence that broke out at a counter-protest on Saturday on a Christian gathering and infiltrating “anarchists.”
During MayDayUSA’s “Don’t Mess With Our Kids” march and a pro-LGBTQ counter-protest at Cal Anderson Park, 23 persons were arrested, according to the Seattle Police Department. SPD claims that officers saw “multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group” and that they were attacked by others while making arrests, necessitating medical attention for one of the officers.
Harrell’s office issued a statement after the altercation started, defending the LGBTQ community and denouncing the “far-right rally” for inciting the violent outburst.
“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,” according to the 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.”
He added, “Anarchists infiltrated the counter-protestors group and inspired violece, prompting SPD to make arrests and ask organizers to shut down the event early, which they did.”
Harrell went on to say that he supports nonviolent protesters against a “national effort by the extreme right-wing to attack our trans and LGBTQ+ communities.” Additionally, he recommended that the circumstances underlying the permission of MayDayUSA’s first event be looked into.
“While there are broad First Amendment requirements around permitting events under free speech protections, I am directing the Parks Department to review all of the circumstances of this application to understand whether there were legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued,” according to the statement. “The Police Department will complete an after-action report of this event, including understanding preparation, crowd management tactics, and review of arrests and citations.”
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According to local news reports, arrests were made as soon as 30 minutes into the demonstration, while counter-protesters from organizations like the Seattle Democratic Socialists of America were yelling at rally attendees and referring to them as “fascist scum.”
SPD did not specify which protesters started the violence.
As stated by Jenny Donnelly, co-sponsor of the event, MayDayUSA is participating in religious rallies in five cities to “stand for our children, restore the family unit, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus.”
