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Russell Johnson, leader of “Pursuit Ministries”, posted this announcement tonight on X: As previously posted here, on Saturday a Spokane church called “On Fire Ministries”, led by former state rep Matt Shea, held an anti-LGBTQ rally and concert in Cal Anderson Park; counterprotesters showed up and clashed with police, and 23 people were arrested. Bruce Harrell released a statement the same day saying that the rally was “designed to provoke a reaction”, and saying that they will review whether they could have tried to persuade the organizers to have the rally somewhere other than the heart of Seattle’s historically LGBTQ neighborhood. This provoked an outcry in right-wing circles accusing Harrell of blaming the event organizers, which has now culminated in Russell Johnson organizing this rally calling for Harrell to apologize or resign. Russell Johnson and Pursuit Ministries were also the group that organized a pro-Israel rally in Red Square at UW in 2024, during the same time as the pro-Gaza encampment, and announced a “parade route” that would have taken them through the middle of the encampment. UW PD ended up setting up metal barricades to stop them from marching through the encampment, so they ended up marching just to the perimeter so both sides could yell at each other, which I’m sure is what he expected was going to happen anyway — but they point is he’s obviously a provocateur, and this looks like he is all but baiting Antifa to show up at City Hall for another showdown with his group. (This is also the same day that Kshama Sawant is rallying people to show up for public comment at 2 PM to oppose the conservative council’s proposals to roll back renter’s rights.) submitted by /u/bennetthaselton |
