SEATTLE — Mayor Bruce Harrell issued a statement regarding Saturday afternoon’s rally and counter-protest that occurred at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill.
Harrell’s statement can be read in its entirety below:
“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. 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.
When the humanity of trans people and those who have been historically marginalized is questioned, we triumph by demonstrating our values through our words and peaceful protest – we lose our voice when this is disrupted by violence, chaos, and confusion.
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.
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. The Police Department will complete an after-action report of this event, including understanding preparation, crowd management tactics, and review of arrests and citations.
I am grateful for those who make their voices heard in support of our neighbors without resorting to violence. In the face of an extreme right-wing national effort to attack our trans and LGBTQ+ communities, Seattle will continue to stand unwavering in our embrace of diversity, love for our neighbors, and commitment to justice and fairness.”
RELATED: Seattle police arrest 22 adults and 1 juvenile amid clashes at Cal Anderson Park rally
Twenty-three people were arrested during the aforementioned rally by a pro-life and pro-biologic-gender group at Cal Anderson Park.
Seattle police said officers who were working to keep two different groups apart witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group at around 1:30 p.m.
“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,” wrote Seattle police. “In total, officers arrested 11 during the initial scuffle.”
Police continued to note that officers escorted the arrested individuals out of the crowd and later took them to their west precinct for processing.
Seattle police said 22 people were arrested for charges of assault and obstruction and were booked into the King County jail. Officers also arrested one juvenile for obstruction, who was eventually released from the precinct.
A KOMO News photographer recorded multiple physical clashes, as well as bike police making arrests shortly after 2 p.m.
MAYDAY USA, an organization that claims “millions of babies are murdered in the womb every year [and] hundreds of thousands of children are trafficked,” brought its “#DontMessWithOurKids” rally to the park at 2 p.m.
On its website, the group says it is protesting “for our kids, their rights, and their futures. We’re declaring the SANCTITY of human life, the SACRALITY of biological gender, the IMPORTANCE of the nuclear family, and the RIGHT to freedom of religion.”
In response to the Mayday rally, numerous protestors set up in the park at the same time.
The Radical Women Seattle group said multiple organizations and activists were there to protest Mayday’s “fascist family values… with the theme of ‘Keep Your Bibles Off Our Bodies.'”
Radical Women Seattle stated, “[The rally] is aimed to counter the well-funded anti-trans, anti-queer event that is led by far-right Christian activists. The Mayday USA rally in Seattle is provocatively being held in the heart of the Queer community. It is part of a 5-city national tour. Reactionary preacher and former Spokane Valley state representative Matt Shea, of the “On Fire Ministries,” is one of the prominent supporters.”
Protestors arrived with picket lines, signs, and banners.
At 1:46 p.m., Seattle police posted on X that “Officers are making multiple arrests at a protest inside Cal Anderson Park. Orders are being given to protesters to back away from officers and to stop throwing items at officers.”
Shortly after, at 2:42 p.m., they posted an update on X, noting, “Additional arrests have been made inside the crowd. No injuries have been reported at this time.” Police later noted on X that people in the crowd began throwing water bottles at officers, and more arrests would occur as they attempted to “safely remove those individuals from the crowd.”
“Protesters have now knocked over fencing,” wrote Seattle police on X at 3:46 p.m. “Additional officers will be responding to the area to assist in maintaining a safe environment.”
Police also reported that they’ve requested mutual aid from the Washington State Patrol and that people will see troopers wearing different uniforms than officers inside the park.
