In response, the Freedom Socialist Party of Seattle, alongside other opposing groups such as Radical Women Seattle and Puget Sound Mobilization for Reproductive Justice, counter-protested the Christian rally promoting what they described as “fascist family values.”

Footage of the event captured some of the ensuing chaos, including activists linked to far-left antifa apparently hurling projectiles at police officers. Police detained several black-clad disruptors.

One injured officer was hospitalized, and at least 23 suspects were arrested on charges of assault and obstruction amid the melee at Cal Anderson Park, according to the Seattle Police Department. Mikaele Andrew Baker, a repeat antifa rioter who identifies as a “trans nonbinary furry,” was among those booked into King County Jail, according to AntifaWatch. MayDay USA leaders told KOMO News that none of their members were arrested and “not one person from our movement was violent.”

The Seattle Police Department said in a statement that “multiple people inside one group” threw items at the opposing group on Saturday afternoon, but did not specify which group instigated the violence.

However, in a joint statement shared with the Washington Examiner, Radical Women Seattle and the Freedom Socialist Party of Seattle said their “spirited defense” of the LGBT community was “marred by aggressive action by Seattle police.”

“Feelings ran high as people countered displays of religiousity with chants and middle fingers,” the groups said in their statement. “Anger intensified as police armed with guns and pepper spray launchers erected metal fences to protect the bigots. At least twice, police filled the air with pepper spray and took aggressive action against counterprotesters.”

The groups have urged activists to contact the city and demand that all charges against those arrested be dismissed. Doreen McGrath, an organizer with the Seattle Freedom Socialist Party, said she is holding the city responsible for the conflict.

Democratic Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell condemned the Christian rallygoers for, as he put it, intentionally provoking a reaction from their political opponents by staging the protest in such a sensitive place. He also said “[a]narchists infiltrated the counterprotesters group and inspired violence.”

“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,” Harrell said in a 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.”

However, Cal Anderson Park, named after Washington state’s first openly gay legislator, was not the first or second location for which the Christian organization sought a permit, May Day USA organizers told the Washington Examiner. The Seattle Special Events Office suggested it as “a suitable alternative” after the city said no to two other sites, the organizers said.

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Harrell directed the city’s Parks Department to investigate the circumstances of the permit application submitted by the Christian organizers, suggesting that they should not have been allowed to assemble at the public park in the first place. Harrell said he wants “to understand whether there were legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued” during the permit approval process. Seattle police will accordingly complete an “after-action report” reviewing event preparation, arrests, citations, and crowd management tactics, Harrell said.

Following backlash over his response, Harrell said critics were taking aim at him simply because he is “Seattle’s second Black and first biracial mayor.”

“We will not be intimidated by the kind of fear-mongering or divisiveness inspired by the rally,” a follow-up statement issued on behalf of Harrell said.

After the arrests, Freedom Socialists Seattle thanked their comrades who “faced off against the bigots and their baton-wielding protectors,” referring to the riot police.

“Despite the mayor’s red-baiting rhetoric, we all stood strong together as proud antifascists,” the Seattle-based socialists said.

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MayDay USA, which is taking the “fight for family” message to other major cities across the United States in a nationwide prayer tour, is gathering again in Seattle this week to protest Harrell’s “false accusations and attempts to limit the freedom of Christian worship.” The demonstration Tuesday evening in front of Seattle City Hall is expected to call on Harrell to retract his statement, apologize, or resign.

On X, MayDay USA organizer Russell Johnson, lead pastor of the participating Pursuit Church, said Harrell owes Christians in Washington state an apology “for his bigoted remarks after folks who were holding a peaceful worship event at Cal Anderson Park were violently assaulted for the high crime of expressing their deeply held religious beliefs in the form of a permitted worship event on city property.”

Harrell’s office, MayDay USA, and the Freedom Socialist Party of Seattle were contacted for comment.