Seattle mayor accused of lying after blaming Christian rally for park violence
Organizers of the Christian rally that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell blamed for a violent riot at a local park pushed back against his claims that they intentionally provoked outrage on Tuesday.
After police reported multiple arrests at the MayDayUSA rally at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, Harrell's office released a statement defending the LGBTQ community and protesters while criticizing the "far-right rally" for provoking the violent reaction.
"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 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."
Though Harrell's office suggested the rally was intentionally held at Cal Anderson Park to stir up controversy, pastor Russell Johnson, who helped to lead the event, said the location was suggested to them by the city.
"The @MayorofSeattle caught in yet another lie. He said we intentionally chose Cal Anderson Park for our worship rally to 'provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are opposed to Seattle's values.' Oops. He must have forgot about the email HIS OFFICE sent us on March 7th denying our permit to gather at Pike Place and SUGGESTING we go to Cal Anderson Park instead," Johnson wrote on X.
Johnson provided email screenshots showing that their initial location, Pike Place, was rejected for being unable to "successfully facilitate" the event. They also showed that Cal Anderson Park was suggested as an alternative option.
Fellow preacher Ross Johnston also told Fox News Digital that their first location was rejected, and they then chose Cal Anderson Park after the city's suggestion. He condemned the mayor's statement for taking the protesters' side to "make things worse."
"His reasoning, of course, is that our values inherently opposed the values of Seattle," Johnston said. "Now, when I hear that, my question is what values is he referring to? Is he referring to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights? Because I don't know if he knows this, but he's actually an elected politician in the United States of America. And in the 250-year history of the nation of America, though we might not all see eye-to-eye on every single matter, or even religion for that matter, we all do agree on having the same rights, right?"
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Harrell's office confirmed that the rally's Pike Place location was rejected and that a city staffer "shared several parks that had potential availability." However, Harrell's press secretary, Callie Craighead, pointed out that Cal Anderson Park was the rally organizers' first choice after being given other options, providing Fox News Digital with a copy of a permit from March.
Craighead also suggested the rally organizers "directly explained their provocative thinking" when choosing locations by citing a pre-rally video depicting Johnston describing their Pike Place location as "Antifa's headquarters" and "where thousands showed up for BLM."
"Mayor Harrell remains steadfast in his denouncement of rhetoric from groups whose messages promote exclusion, intolerance, and undermine the dignity and rights of any community member—particularly those that are marginalized, like our LGBTQ+ community," Craighead said.
She added, "As a Christian himself, the mayor is guided by the Christian values of love and justice, and his comments have specifically addressed ideologies that are in contrast to Seattle's commitment to being a welcoming city for all. Like any faith community, Christianity is not a monolith—and many Christians throughout Seattle do not hold the beliefs expressed by the organizers of the Mayday rally."
In response to the mayor's original statement, Johnston and Johnson launched a protest rally outside Seattle City Hall on Tuesday, calling for his resignation. Johnston also emphasized that he "100%" condemned violence.
"We want nobody to be arrested. We want nobody to be hurt or end up in the hospital. Absolutely not. We condone all violence 100% of the time," Johnston told Fox News Digital.
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