The FBI is investigating potential violations of religious freedom after Antifa-style activists descended on a Christian worship rally at a Seattle park, prompting 23 arrests and a rebuke from the mayor — against the Christian group.
“We have asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino posted Tuesday on X. “Freedom of religion isn’t a suggestion.”
The Mayday USA tour, a five-city event featuring music, prayer and praise, drew an estimated 500 worshippers Saturday to Cal Anderson Park in Seattle, as well as hundreds of black-clad, masked activists who protested along the park’s perimeter and tangled with police.
Mayday USA organizers said none of their participants were among those arrested, but Mayor Bruce Harrell blasted the group for appearing at a park located in what he called “Seattle’s most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood.”
“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,” Mr. Harrell said in a Saturday 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 said.
His accusations came even though organizers said the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department routed them to Cal Anderson Park after denying their application to hold the event at a park in the Pike Place neighborhood.
“If you want us to go [to Cal Anderson Park], we will absolutely go there, but it’s just interesting how the mayor has come out against us, against Christians, and has no single ounce of support for us,” Ross Johnston, co-leader of the Mayday USA tour, told Seattle’s KOMO-TV.
Among those arrested at the “Fascist Family Values” counterprotest Saturday was a 28-year-old woman accused of hitting an officer with a baton and throwing a “rock with an explosive” at a cop, The Seattle Times reported.
The event was forced to shut down early after “anarchists infiltrated the counterprotesters group and inspired violence,” said Mr. Harrell.
The mayor, who is a Democrat, wants a review of the event’s permitting process.
“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,” he said.
On May 24, Antifa-Trantifa tried to violently attack a Christian worship event at a park in Seattle where former CHAZ was. The local media called it a fascist event, using Antifa’s lies. @MayorofSeattle & @jamiehousen also sided with Antifa in condemning.pic.twitter.com/OfQZlsBfjQ
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) May 27, 2025
Evangelical Christian groups reacted by holding a “Rattle in Seattle” rally Tuesday outside City Hall, waving signs with messages like “Free Speech for All” and “Cut Bruce Loose.”
The Christian protesters demanded an apology from Mr. Harrell for his “disgusting comments aimed at bringing harm to the faith community.”
“If the mayor won’t apologize, it’s time for him to resign in disgrace,” said the statement led by Pastor Russell Johnson of the Pursuit NW, a church with three campuses in Washington state.
Mr. Harrell responded by issuing a statement of support from “a diverse group of prominent Seattle Christian and Faith leaders.”
They included the Rev. Victoria Carr-Ware, senior pastor of the Queen Anne Baptist Church, who blasted the Mayday USA gathering as a “weaponization of religion to spread hate.”
The Mayday USA tour is billed as a movement against child trafficking and abortion inspired by the #DontMessWithOurKids movement that began in Peru.
“Today, in Peru, transgenderism is classified as a mental illness, and life is defined at conception. It’s our turn!” said the Mayday USA website.
