The news broke today that the performative anti-gay, anti-abortion activists Mayday USA are suing Seattle for imaginary free speech violations. Well that’s fun. I’m not about to waste the research effort I did just because the Seattle Times had to close their comment section, so here we go!
One paragraph summary: they’re a bunch of New Apostolic Reformation assholes who came to Seattle this summer to fire up controversy and got what they wanted — counter-protesters, arrests, and a lot of free publicity. So it goes. Now they’re suing because the publicity is fading and the grift is based on constant weeping and wailing.
I dug up the complaint. Now, I am not a lawyer but I am competent to point out hypocrisy. I want to hit two points in particular because they reveal a lot about how these movements do business; we’re going to look at the claim that they were “steered” to a park in the middle of Seattle’s Capitol Hill — certainly a popular place for queers to live and socialize — and the claim that Harrell blamed the violence on them. These are related.
So: the evidence that they were “steered” is this. They wanted to use Pike Place. The city said no “due to the size and scope of the proposed event being too large to be safely accommodated at the proposed location.” They also cited an event from last year, the March for Jesus. According to the complaint, “Plaintiffs attempted to inform the City that the March for Jesus event was a different organization…”
This may not hold up under scrutiny, because in the emails included with the complaint, the person negotiating with Seattle said “This event is a completely different event than the one we did last year with United Revival.” I am still not a lawyer but that sounds sort of like you’re confirming that you’re the same organization, even if it’s a different event. Also, the email address of the person in question ends in unitedrevival.com, which makes me wonder who exactly “we” is intended to be.
The complaint goes on to muddy the waters a bunch by claiming that Seattle pushed Mayday USA off to talk to the Downtown Seattle Association as decision makers. That also seems to be false. What they did say is that “it’s quite possible that DSA can help find another location.” It’s clear that the city is talking to the DSA about the application, and if you assume that it’s legitimate to ask for input from stakeholders before permitting… that seems normal? (And that’s a question I don’t have a legal answer to, for what it’s worth.)
And then we get to the really hypocritical bit: “steered.” Seattle suggested Westlake Park and Occidental Square Park as locations. Westlake Park literally touches Pike St. It is two blocks away from the photo in their original application. It’s right there. The Seattle Park Department confirmed that South Lake Union Park was available. Mayday USA wasn’t steered anywhere; they decided to go to the heart of queer Seattle.
OK. Does their prior behavior tell us anything about the chances this was a conscious decision? Of course it does.
On June 1st, 2025 — soon after the Seattle rally — Mayday USA held a rally at Mann’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in LA. The city denied them that permit; they didn’t care. In April 2022, Ross Johnston (founder of Mayday USA) and Sean Feucht (Johnston’s mentor) led a march targeting gay bars on Santa Monica Boulevard. They know they’re going into hostile ground, and they consistently choose hostile ground for these rallies, because that’s where they get to feel persecuted and because that is quite literally spiritual doctrine for them.
C. Peter Wagner, founder of the New Apostolic Reformation Movement of which Mayday USA is just one element, literally wrote the book on this. He created a “spiritual warfare framework,” which calls for confronting “territorial spirits” that “coordinate activities over a geographical area.” He has a six step process, beginning with selecting a sinful area and ending with prayer marches with on-site conflict. “Sinful” means, among other things, queer.
It is not credible to claim you were forced into using Cal Anderson Park when using Cal Anderson Park is completely in line with the spiritual warfare methods developed by your mentors. Particularly when Jennifer Donnelly of Mayday USA says things like “I’m a really black-and-white person. I just believe what the Bible says. We’re supposed to go onto the Earth; we’re supposed to dominate.”
The other claim — Harrell blaming them — I’ll do more quickly. This is obviously an attempt to avoid admitting that they were deliberately provoking people, and it doesn’t hold up for a second. What Harrell 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. “
Not bad for Harrell, actually. He also said “Anarchists infiltrated the counter-protestors group and inspired violence” which is more like what I expect from him, and which is also quite clear about who inspired the violence. It does not qualify as blaming Mayday USA for violence; it does qualify as blaming them for deliberately provoking a reaction. And, despite the overwrought language of the lawsuit, he clearly condemned the violence. Mayday USA just doesn’t like being called out for the fringe group they are.
What complete whiny dorks.
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