The sun beat down on hundreds of faces crowded together in Cal Anderson Park May 24. What would have been a perfect day to sunbathe became a sweltering nightmare as two opposing protests made their way through the park. Clouds of dust were kicked up beneath marching feet, mixing with the sweat dripping off faces. The noise could be heard from blocks away, a cacophony of music, chanting and police sirens. 

At the center of the park, a massive stage had been constructed by far-right Christian organization Mayday USA, bringing their nationwide “Don’t Mess With Our Kids” tour to Seattle. Throughout the day, the event hosts delivered sermons on “gender ideology,” abortion and the ongoing “war on children,” as well as playing gospel music. 

Metal barricades surrounded the crowd of supporters as baton-wielding officers from the Seattle Police Department (SPD) faced away from the stage and towards the swaths of counter-protesters. Despite only having roughly a week’s notice to prepare, members of the transgender community and their allies showed up in massive numbers, at some points appearing to outnumber the original group of Mayday demonstrators.

“This group is coming out here promoting Christian nationalism, pushing hate and denying healthcare services to people in our community. They aren’t even from Seattle,” one counter-protester said as he waved a large rainbow pride flag.

Through their website and social media accounts, Mayday USA makes their anti-trans and anti-abortion stance explicitly clear.

“Today, in Peru, transgenderism is classified as a mental illness, and life is defined at conception. It’s our turn!” their website states.

When Mayday supporters began advertising their upcoming rally to parkgoers, word spread through social media like wildfire. Just hours after the first Mayday fliers were spotted in Cal Anderson, plans for a counter-protest had been finalized. Local punk bands were scheduled to drown out Mayday’s speakers with music while organizations like Capitol Hill Pride provided water and medical assistance to protesters. 

One group heavily involved in organizing the rally was the Seattle chapter of Refuse Fascism. The organization has been active since Donald Trump’s first presidential term, aiming to unite and organize all communities affected by his administration.

“When we started in 2016, a lot of people didn’t want us to use the word fascism because they thought it would upset people, I kid you not. It’s sad, but we have to tell the people the truth. Fascism isn’t a swear word, it’s a new form of government,” Cynthia Whetsell, an organizer and Seattle University alum, said. “We have to be brave. We have to do stuff we’ve never done, nonviolently. We’re working with everybody that has a heart for humanity, that cares about the world, and is absolutely sickened by what these fascists are doing.”

Whetsell and other volunteers for Refuse Fascism emphasized the nonviolent nature of the protest. Many attendees aimed to spread joy, support and community to those targeted by hate. Teens and adults alike could be seen dancing to the music, drumming on trash cans and waving flags and signs. 

Older folks distributed water and popsicles to beat the heat while swapping stories with younger generations. Proud grandparents of trans kids hugged those who may not have support at home, while pastors in rainbow regalia assured queer folks that God loves them exactly as they are. One group stationed a few yards away from the main protest offered free gender-affirming haircuts to attendees.

“All of us are out here at the park are here supporting our trans, queer brethren and letting Seattle know that we’re here and we’re not going anywhere. No matter how many fascist, right-wing Christians they bring to our park, we’re gonna be louder and gayer than they are. Trans joy!” Alexis Schlegel, a hairdresser from Lady Neptune Salon who attended the protest, said. “My buddies and I are out here cutting and slinging shears just to make Seattle look as gay as we feel today, and we want to give as much gender affirming joy for free as we can today. Our identities are so much on the inside, I want everyone to feel like they can show their identity on the outside and know that they’re safe to do that, and they should be.”

This joy, however, proved to be fragile. As the day went on, Mayday USA’s speakers became more radical, calling on the crowd to “protect [their] children” and requesting “sacrifices” from the audience in the form of monetary donations. While the two groups of protesters rarely interacted directly, counter-protesters reported seeing hateful signs and gestures coming from the crowd.

“I’ve seen a lot of people in the crowd sieg-heiling and pretending they were waving their arms or reaching out to God. I’ve heard a lot of weird things. They’re saying some insane stuff. Like, ‘they tried to kill me because I’m a woman.’ Girl, you want to kill me for being a woman!” Zifri, an attendee who preferred to share her first name only, said.

“It just confuses me. Half the stuff they say doesn’t even make sense, it’s just hurtful,” another attendee named Maddie added.

Zifri and Maddie also reported witnessing SPD officers drag multiple people away from the Mayday stage. Officers were accompanied by troopers from the Washington State Patrol, who arrived around 5:30 p.m. after a request from SPD for mutual aid.

“I watched the cops drag someone away for just being in there. He had a skateboard, he got close-ish to the stage. From my perspective, he didn’t actually do anything. I watched them tear gas us for pushing a gate over and just drag people away, like a limp body across the grass. I saw somebody get dragged face down, across the grass, across a gate. I started tearing up because that’s horrible, why would you do that to someone?” Maddie said.

Around 7 p.m., as Mayday USA protesters began to leave the park, SPD officers dressed in riot gear reportedly used pepper spray to disperse a group of counter-protesters near the entrance at 11th Avenue and Olive Street.

“I was right at the front when [SPD] started spraying us. I have really bad asthma, so when that happened, I knew I needed to get out,” one counter-protester who preferred to only be referred to by their first name, Danny, said. “I saw a few people start pushing forward, and I guess that was considered too aggressive. When the concert was going on, they were just standing at the guard rails. When the Christians left, that’s when they started getting more aggressive towards us.”

Danny and others reported seeing multiple arrests made for what they described as seemingly no reason. At the time of publication, SPD reports that 23 arrests were made during the protest, the majority being taken in under charges of assault and/or obstruction. Through donations and mutual aid, all protesters have reportedly been released on bail.

“It’s all peaceful, it’s been incredibly peaceful. Way too many police though, there’s a crazy amount of police for a peaceful protest,” one anonymous protester said. This person estimated seeing 40 to 50 officers stationed in various parts of the park.

Mayday USA vacated the park by 8 p.m., prompting cheers from counter-protesters. Local bands continued to play well into the night, as an air of both celebration and dread hung over the park. The next morning, white signs with the words “Republican lies kill trans people” still peppered the grass like gravestones.

On the evening of May 24, Mayor Bruce Harrell released a statement affirming his support for the LGBTQ+ community and attributing any altercations with police to “anarchists [who] infiltrated the counter-protesters group and inspired violence, prompting SPD to make arrests and ask organizers to shut down the event early, which they did.”

In response to Mayor Harrell’s statement, Mayday USA, in association with Pursuit Church, hosted a rally at Seattle City Hall May 27, just days after their original demonstration. The group condemned Harrell for referring to them as an “extreme right-wing” organization. They called for Harrell to either apologize or, if he refused, to resign.

One video from The Burner, an independent Seattle-based journalist, shows a Pursuit Church security guard barring anyone not affiliated with a church from entering the City Hall Plaza. Mayday supporters could be seen with signs referring to the event as “Rattle in Seattle.”

Shortly after the second rally began, Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino posted a statement on social media platform X, stating that he had, “Asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert,” adding that, “Freedom of religion isn’t a suggestion.”

Despite the last-minute nature of this rally, the event still drew a significant number of counter-protesters. SPD reports that eight arrests were made under charges of assault. Harrell and SPD have yet to release statements on the demonstration at City Hall. Trans Seattlelites are left to wait with bated breath after the events of the week provided a bitter reminder of the work needed to keep the city safe for their community.