Christian worship event in deep blue city faces fierce backlash from LGBTQ leaders
Christian worship leader Sean Feucht is holding a rally in Seattle despite LGBTQ activists urging city officials to revoke his permit. Counter-protests are planned.
A Christian worship leader will hold a concert in Seattle this weekend, even as LGBTQ activists urge city leaders to revoke his permit.
Sean Feucht, a Christian singer and conservative activist, is scheduled to bring his "Revive in ’25" tour to Gas Works Park on Saturday. Feucht rose to national prominence during the COVID lockdowns, when he launched his "Let Us Worship" movement protesting restrictions on religious gatherings. He has also faced criticism over the years for his support of President Donald Trump and his comments about the LGBTQ community.
Earlier this month, eight Canadian cities revoked permits for Feucht’s tour. Now, Seattle activists are pressing city officials to do the same.
Charlette LeFevre, director of Capitol Hill Pride, called the event "malicious harassment and incitement" against the LGBTQ community, telling KING 5 News, "This is not what Seattle is about."
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell countered that canceling the rally would violate Feucht’s First Amendment rights.
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"The law is crystal clear. You cannot shut down a venue on anticipated speech," Harrell told KING 5. "Any group under the First Amendment has a right to use one of our public assets, such as a park, to have assembly. That’s embedded in the First Amendment, and we have to respect the First Amendment."
Progressive Seattle outlet The Stranger reported that Lavender Rights Project, a Black transgender feminist group, and 15 community partners, plan to hold a counter event this weekend to combat what they called a "propaganda machine."
The concert comes just months after violence erupted at another Seattle religious gathering in May.
The Seattle Police Department reported 23 people were arrested at Cal Anderson Park during MayDayUSA’s "Don’t Mess With Our Kids" rally and a pro-LGBTQ counter-protest. According to SPD, police "witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group." Police were assaulted while arresting those individuals, leading to one officer requiring medical treatment.
Harrell later blamed the Christian rally and infiltrating "anarchists" for the violence.
This is not the first time Feucht has faced resistance in Seattle. In 2020, city officials closed Gas Works Park ahead of his planned worship rally due to COVID concerns.
Feucht criticized the move as hypocritical, accusing city leaders of targeting Christians while tolerating riots.
"It was obviously a targeting and discrimination towards believers in the city," Feucht told Fox News at the time.
"There’s just a bias," he added. "It’s the height of hypocrisy right now that they’re letting these cities succumb to rioting and burning and pillaging and yet they’re targeting Christians."
Feucht did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the upcoming rally.
A spokesperson for Harrell's office referred Fox News Digital to the mayor's public statement affirming Feucht's free speech rights under the law.
"Under the First Amendment, the City cannot decline a permit based on the anticipated message of the event or views of the organizers," the mayor's office said. "At the same time, the City strongly celebrates and supports the LGBTQ+ community. Mayor Harrell and Councilmember Hollingsworth’s request to the organizers to move from Cal Anderson Park and Capitol Hill to another location was based in maintaining public safety. We will continue working with LGBTQ+ residents and organizations to uplift our community and create a welcoming, inclusive city for all."
After the Canadian concert cancellations, Feucht said in a statement shared with CTV News Toronto, "To publicly profess deeply held Christian beliefs is to be labeled an extremist and to have free worship events classified as 'public safety risks.'"
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