23 arrested during protest at Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park

Seattle police arrested 23 people as protestors clashed with officers in Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill on Saturday.

“Police working to keep two different groups apart, witnessed multiple people inside one group throw items at the opposing group around 1:30 p.m. Saturday,” Seattle Police said in a post on the SPD Blotter. “Officers immediately moved to arrest the people responsible, and while taking the individuals into custody, were assaulted by more protesters, resulting in even more arrests. In total, officers arrested 11 during the initial scuffle.”

SPD officials reported that some of the protesters were throwing items at officers, including water bottles. Some also knocked down fencing, police said.

They gave orders to the protesters to back away from officers and to stop throwing things at police.

“The rally wasn’t some fringe event,” Keith Graves with Christian Warrior Training said. “It was a public stand for biblical values: the sanctity of life, biological truth, and the importance of family and faith. That was enough to draw violence.”

Arrests continued throughout the day, one officer hurt

Police said over the course of the afternoon, they arrested 12 more people for assault and obstruction.

One juvenile was also arrested for obstruction, but was later released.

Washington State Patrol troopers were called out to the scene to provide officers with a brief opportunity to rest, the post said.

One officer was hurt during the protest. They were treated at the hospital and released.

According to The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, the event was a counter-protest to a gathering planned by a Spokane-based church.

CHSB reported the demonstration was put on by a group called “On Fire Ministries,” which is led by Christian fundamentalist pastor and former state representative Matt Shea.

Participants reportedly planned the event to condemn sex trafficking and abortion, and to defend the “sanctity of the nuclear family.”

“Anarchists infiltrated the counter-protestors group and inspired violence, prompting SPD to make arrests and ask organizers to shut down the event early, which they did,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement Saturday.

“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. “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.”

Officers are making multiple arrests at a protest inside Cal Anderson Park. Orders are being given to protesters to back away from officers and to stop throwing items at officers.

— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) May 24, 2025