Christians are calling for Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell to resign after a weekend event turned into a protest by left-wing activists.
“We will not be intimidated by the kind of fear mongering or divisiveness inspired by the rally and extreme rhetoric that takes aim at our residence and Seattle’s second black and first biracial mayor,” Harrell said upon calls for his resignation.
Seattle Pastor Russell Johnson, one of the weekend rally’s participants, said he would be “happy to talk after he apologizes and retracts his bigoted statements about people of faith.”
“Now he releases a statement saying he is being ‘intimidated’ because he is biracial,” Johnson added. “That’s how you know we are winning. That’s how you know his resignation is impending.” He called for the mayor to be “held to account in public.”
In a separate statement, Johnson said Seattle “deserves better than a radical leftist who tramples on the religious freedoms of citizens while providing cover for violent extremists to abuse police officers, attack Christians, and destroy a city.”
The Seattle Police Department announced that 23 people were arrested at Cal Anderson Park during MayDayUSA’s “Don’t Mess With Our Kids” event, where attendees were met with leftist protesters.
Following the event, Harrell said the rally was put on by members of the “far-right.”
“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,” he said. “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.”
The Seattle Police Officers Guild condemned the presence of ANTIFA in the city. “Over seven hundred police officers have fled this city in the past decade. This is due to the public safety political decisions by our elected leaders, activist pressure, and for their lack of action against ANTIFA criminals who continue to dictate public safety political terms,” the guild said. “The remaining police officers in this city are tired. Our community is tired. This is Seattle’s public safety political reality.”
