The Mayday USA group, which attempted to declare Jesus "king" of Seattle on May 24 in Cal Anderson Park, in the heart of the city's Queer neighborhood, took to the steps of City Hall on May 27 to call on Mayor Bruce Harrell to apologize for a statement he issued, redact it, or resign. Harrell had characterized the Capitol Hill event as meant "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."
Protesters were positioned around the perimeter of police barricades at City Hall. But Seattle police allowed Mayday USA members into the thick of where the protesters were. Protesters felt that these were provocations, and when they verbally objected, police intervened, leading to violent clashes targeting Trans people, Queers, and allies, and a total of eight arrests, on unknown charges.
Provocations and arrests
A young man wearing a white shirt continually inserted himself into the protest, then ran back up to the balcony area, where local MAGA Republican talking head Katie Daviscourt was spotted recording footage of him. The balcony was sealed off by barricades, as police had established a primary base there that was also a media access area. Photographs taken by the SGN show another man and his friend running down to the protesters, then laughing on their way back up the hill as protesters told them to leave.
At one point, a man wearing a sunhat and waving an American flag and a woman with a baby and two toddlers were spotted pushing their way into the protesters so as to get through the barricades and into the Mayday USA crowd.
A group of protesters quickly responded to this new group (something SPD officers neglected to do throughout the event), saying they needed to leave, as it wasn't safe to bring small children into that area.
"A woman came into the crowd with her infant. We tried to tell her that this wasn't an entrance...," Chandler Spears, who was at the front of the barricade during this incident, told the SGN. "Nobody got near her baby... Many of us told her she needed to go back up the block."
Spears noted how the crowd made space for the group of five, using their bodies as barriers to prevent any potential harm, like being bumped, and even created a wall by holding their arms out and putting cardboard protest signs on their backs. Tensions began to rise as the group of five continued to push toward the barricade, and police became aware of what appeared to be a family in the midst of the protest.
"SPD came down, and they made her move, and they held all of us back," Spears added.
While Seattle Police Outreach Engagement Team (POET) officers, who are meant to ease tensions in such situations, were seen pushing through the barricades where the family was, they were hands-off, and instead, Seattle police pushed into the crowd, which led to a lot of yelling, shoving, and eventually arrests.
The Mayday USA crowd continued to blast Christian rock music through loudspeakers. Joe Malloy, who is running for mayor, told the SGN that the extremist group did not receive a permit to perform, adding that meant a $3,000 fine.
An announcement was made on the mainstage, in which the anti-Trans group said that the FBI is launching an investigation into the City of Seattle for its disregard for Christianity and prioritization of care for the LGBTQIA+ community in recently issued statements about the targeted location of Mayday USA's previous event, in historically Queer Cal Anderson Park.
Protesters yelled "Fuck you!" and "Go home, fascists!," waiting for Mayday USA's final sendoff. Similarly to Saturday, Mayday USA members began praying and speaking in tongues when packing up. Its private security wove their arms together to create a wall against the protesters, who proceeded to trickle in to the mainstage area. Those hours of shouting "Go home, fascists!" paid off, as the group is heading to Los Angeles to spread its bigotry in another Queer hot spot on May 31.
Seattle Public Safety Committee meeting
Earlier that morning, the Seattle City Council held a Public Safety Committee meeting, in which Councilmember Bob Kettle noted how the events of May 24 were a good opportunity for the City to stand up for free speech, the rights of our LGBTQIA+ community, and all of Seattle.
"Has anyone been surprised by the police violence we witnessed on Capitol Hill three days ago?" one District 7 resident asked. "The videos from Saturday are classic... showing police escalating... This is what you have done."
A Capitol Hill resident noted how the City had approved a hate-group event in Seattle's "gayborhood," and asked how much it costs Seattle taxpayers to "provide a small army of police to protect them."
"The Seattle Police Department has a long history of violence towards Queer and left-wing protesters, and turning them loose... [will result] in actual physical and emotional harm to our community," they said.
Councilmember Kettle said people need to be mindful that "there's third actors as well," and that first reports of the media are frequently wrong and incorrect, and are waiting for body camera footage – which several officers had turned off – to better understand the day's brutality.
Greg Doss, supervising analyst at the Seattle City Council, went over an SPD report that's issued on a quarterly basis and noted how the department has been seeing a trend of about 14 new hires per month, "which is really double of what has occurred historically, even in good years," he said.
Since April 18, the SPD has hired 60 officers, and the hiring projection from this year ranges from 132 to 169 officers. Doss noted how the Seattle Police Officers Guild has made the SPD the "highest paid law enforcement in the state," and salaries are the highest contributing factor to recruits.Doss added that there are 930 deployable officers in the City, and that it takes about one year to become a fully trained officer.
Because of these hiring projections, Doss said there is an estimated budget shortfall of $6.8–10 million.
Permit double standards for anti-Trans group and Trans Pride
Trans Pride has been hosting its annual event in Cal Anderson Park, with few changes over the past four years. While Mayday USA had scheduled events in Cal Anderson Park and outside of City Hall apparently easily, Trans Pride Seattle has faced significant issues over the past three or four years.
The Seattle Fire Department has issued citations or requests for the remediation of alleged violations, like rushing to a hardware store to obtain extra fire extinguishers and finding ways to cover extension cords and cables – which has allegedly come with sexual harassment and follow-up meetings, an anonymous source told the SGN.
Other areas of differing treatment include the permitting process, like requiring Trans Pride Seattle's permits to be due at least 60 days ahead of the event, while Mayday USA obtained a permit only a month in advance.
"Trans Pride organizers also have to submit a plan for event safety and work closely with [the Parks Department] and other stakeholders to provide their permits and plans far in advance, whereas it seems that Mayday was able to kick off this event without issue," they said.
Mayday USA plans to host another event in Cal Anderson in August. The SGN will continue to follow this story.
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