Seattle sued after mayor blames Christians for violent clash with left-wing agitators

Christian rally organizers whose May event in Seattle was disrupted by agitators are now suing the city and the police department, alleging they were unlawfully discriminated against because of their religious views.

Legal group Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 26 against the city of Seattle, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Chief of Police Shon Barnes on behalf of MayDay USA organizers. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims the city violated the group’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

MayDay USA, described in court filings as a nationwide religious revival tour aimed at "turning America back to God," held events in five major U.S. cities in May. The group’s rally at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle resulted in 23 arrests after protesters disrupted the event and reportedly threw urine-filled water balloons at attendees.

The Seattle Police Department said it witnessed "multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group" and, while arresting individuals, officers were assaulted by others, leading to injuries requiring treatment.

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According to the lawsuit, the organizers initially requested a permit to hold the event on Pike Street, a popular corridor frequently used for demonstrations. The city denied the request, saying Pike Street was too small to safely host the proposed event and that similar events had sparked complaints from local businesses. 

Emails between the organizers and Seattle’s Special Events Office show officials referring the group to several alternative sites, including Cal Anderson Park, located in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, historically a hub for Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community.

Organizers said they accepted the city’s alternate location "at the urging of City officials and the City’s grant of a permit for that location," adding that they "did not desire to use Cal Anderson Park but did so" only after their original permit was rejected.

Afterward, Mayor Harrell blamed the Christian rally for provoking the violent reaction at Cal Anderson Park.

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"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," the mayor's statement read. "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 went on to say that 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."

MayDay USA organizers pushed back on claims they intentionally provoked outrage with the rally location, saying they only chose that park because the city had denied their initial choice.

In the lawsuit, the organizers slammed the mayor for blaming them for the violence.

"Mayor Harrell’s callous statements are particularly disturbing, given the violent assaults Plaintiffs suffered at the hands of agitators from whom Seattle had the duty to protect Plaintiffs," the suit states. 

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The suit alleges, "Violent agitators threw urine-filled balloons at Plaintiffs, engaged in obscene behavior and masturbation in front of the innocent minor children in attendance at Plaintiffs event, threatened Plaintiffs and their volunteers and attendees with death and serious bodily harm for engaging in their protected activity, hurled verbal threats at Plaintiffs, destroyed or damaged Plaintiffs’ event equipment, and otherwise engaged in physical threats and actual violence. Did the Mayor condemn the violence? No – he blamed the victim, and he did so solely because of the religious views, speech, expression, and exercise."

The mayor’s office previously acknowledged to Fox News Digital that Cal Anderson Park was one of several parks shared with event organizers as possible locations. A spokesperson for Harrell stood by his statement, citing a pre-rally video showing a pastor describing Pike Place as "Antifa’s headquarters" and "where thousands showed up for BLM [Black Lives Matter]."

The lawsuit claims Seattle officials’ actions violated the organizers’ First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment constitutional rights.

"MayDay’s voice was silenced by the City’s weaponization of the unbridled discretion granted to it under its permitting scheme, and Defendants exercised their unconstitutionally unbridled discretion to target, censor, and unconstitutionally restrict MayDay’s religious beliefs, expression, and speech," the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs named in the suit are Russell Johnson, Jenny and Robert Donnelly, Ross Johnston, and Her Voice Movement, Inc., Christian ministers and organizers of Mayday USA.

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They are seeking a judge’s order to prevent Seattle from enforcing its event-permit rules in a way that discriminates against religious or political speech. The suit also asks the court to declare Seattle’s permitting scheme unconstitutional and award monetary damages.

The Seattle Police Department and the city attorney's office said they could not comment on active litigation.

When reached for comment, Harrell’s office provided the following statement in response to the lawsuit:

"We have frequently and consistently shared the City's process that allows for people of all viewpoints to express their First Amendment rights in public spaces. While we cannot comment on active litigation with respect to those rights, Mayor Harrell and Councilmember Hollingsworth worked with organizers regarding a similar event in August, recognizing the City cannot and does not decline or modify permits or locations based on anticipated speech or viewpoint."

The lawsuit follows a separate Christian worship event in Seattle that went forward peacefully in late August — with city officials openly cooperating with organizers.

Sean Feucht, a Christian musician and conservative activist known for his "Let Us Worship" movement opposing COVID-19 restrictions on churches, brought his "Revive in ’25" tour to Gas Works Park on Aug. 30.

Despite calls from activists to cancel it, the rally proceeded without major confrontation. According to KING 5 and KUOW, about 200 protesters gathered behind barricades, blowing kazoos and waving transgender and Pride flags to drown out the concert.

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.