Christians headed took to the streets of Seattle to hold a prayer rally after city officials closed off a park to prevent their meeting — all while continuing to allow anti-police protests to take place in the city.
Photos show the action the City of Seattle took ahead of a prayer rally, which was expected to take place at Gas Works Park. “Park temporarily closed,” a sign hanging on a chain-link fence read. The city made its intentions known, stating that it closed the park to “prevent ‘anticipated crowding’ from worship rally organized by local churches.” According to KTTH’s Jason Rantz, host of the Jason Rantz Show, the city also “stationed park rangers around the area, plus social distancing ambassadors.”
“This was specifically meant to stop the prayer rally by worship leader Sean Feucht,” he reported.
The city claimed that it “does not allow unpermitted public events to take place in Seattle parks and asks the public to continue to adhere to current public health guidelines so that we can keep our parks open,” but Rantz deemed that statement an “absolute lie,” noting the continued protests in the city. That includes the prolonged occupancy of Cal Anderson Park in the area formerly known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) — a protest the city allowed to fester for weeks.
The group met anyway, with Feucht cheekily referring to the event as a “worship protest”:
“The church of Seattle WILL NOT be silenced! Over 2000 took to the streets and GOD LIT THE PLACE UP with miracles, baptisms, salvations, racial reconciliation (with the police!) and HOPE!!” Feucht wrote on Tuesday:
“We’re all getting together a group of believers. We’re still worshipping because I feel like Christians are under a lot of persecution right now,” one attendee, McKenna, told KING5.
“It’s so important that we are gathering together, especially in times like this,” she added.
Rantz continued:
Seattle Parks did not respond to a request for comment. How could they? They could hide behind coronavirus concerns all they want but we know that’s absurd. I spent some time at a busy Lake Union Park with social distance ambassadors nowhere in sight. Why? No one wanted to pray there.
The city isn’t hiding their anti-religious bigotry. By not enforcing their rules in any semblance of a consistent fashion, I pray they’re opening themselves up to legal challenges. Either religious rallies and social justice rallies are permitted, or none at all.
Durkan doesn’t get to pick and choose which expression she’ll permit, an ironic concept given she spends downtime ignoring attempts to murder cops so she can call President Donald Trump a dictator.
The city’s action coincides with another chaotic scene Monday, as rioters clashed with police officers in a Labor Day protest, resulting in nearly two dozen arrests. Demonstrators targeted police officers, hurling various projectiles, including rocks and Molotov cocktails, at officers.
The Seattle Police Department released one image of Molotov cocktails recovered by authorities outside the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild (SPOG) office: