Harger: Seattle religious gathering shows free speech survives when it’s loud, messy, and nonviolent

Here’s what the First Amendment sounds like: Guitars, bullhorns, airhorns, and yes, even kazoos.

That was the scene at Gas Works Park on Saturday for “Revive in ’25,” a Christian revival put on by the group Let Us Worship.

Inside the fence, videos showed a band blasting Christian rock while a pastor preached about saving Seattle. People raised their hands in worship and cheered when pastors declared victory for religious freedom. They prayed for the city, for the lost, and for redemption.

Outside, protesters waved pride flags, chanted through bullhorns, and blew airhorns. Some even brought kazoos, which is certainly one way to fight what they viewed as fascism. It was loud and tense, and yeah, there were a few scuffles. But nothing like the all-out melee we saw last time.

Let me be clear, my views and the views of this religious group don’t align. But that doesn’t matter. They’ve got every right to say what they believe, to gather in a park, and to worship how they choose. This is the First Amendment in action: Speech, assembly, and religion, all in one noisy package. That’s not a bug in our system, it’s the whole point.

The last time these groups met, it was chaos at Cal Anderson Park, a place many in the LGBTQ+ community consider a safe space. Counterprotesters, including members of antifa, attacked church members who were being deliberately provocative. But it doesn’t matter how provocative someone is. Violence is never the answer. Twenty-three arrests, pepper spray, and riot gear. That wasn’t free speech. That was a street fight. That was a failure.

This time, the city moved the event, the police kept a low profile, and everyone got to speak. Nobody ended up in the hospital. Nobody got zip-tied. That’s progress.

The First Amendment doesn’t promise comfort. It promises noise, disagreement, and the right to keep talking anyway, even when it hurts. Even when you hate what the other side is saying.

So yeah, it was messy. It was noisy. But it proved something important. We can shout at each other without swinging at each other. And in a time when that feels increasingly rare, that’s how the First Amendment survives.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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