FBI to probe claims of ‘targeted violence' against religious groups after evangelicals' protest in Seattle
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Tuesday he had requested an investigation into allegations of 'targeted violence' against religious groups after an evangelical conservative group held a rally at Seattle City Hall in response to the mayor blaming Christians for igniting a weekend demonstration that turned violent.
'We have asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert. Freedom of religion isn't a suggestion,' Bongino wrote on X.
The Christians' 'Rattle in Seattle' demonstration began at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the 4th Avenue steps of City Hall in downtown Seattle, where counter-protesters were also present, according to Fox 13.
A total of eight people were arrested for assault during dueling demonstrations as of 8 p.m., according to Seattle Police. No injuries were reported.
'Two opposing groups gathered along 4th Avenue. Streets around the dueling demonstrations were shut down for several hours, but reopened just before 8 p.m.,' police said in a press release.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Seattle Police for possible updated arrest totals.
4 People rally in Seattle's Cal Anderson Park on May 24, 2025.
KOMO News
Tuesday's protest comes after a demonstration on Saturday at Cal Anderson Park during MayDayUSA's 'Don't Mess With Our Kids' rally and a pro-LGBTQ counter-protest.
Police made 23 arrests at that demonstration after violence broke out when event organizers, attendees and counter-protesters converged.
Mayor Bruce Harrell, a Democrat, released a statement after the weekend demonstration, blaming the Christian rally and infiltrating 'anarchists' for the violence breaking out at the counter-protest.
'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,' the mayor said at the time. '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.'
4 Tuesday's protest comes after a demonstration on Saturday at Cal Anderson Park during MayDayUSA's 'Don't Mess With Our Kids' rally and a pro-LGBTQ counter-protest.
KIRO7
4 Law enforcement detain a person during the clash between groups in Seattle over the weekend.
KOMO News
'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,' he continued.
The mayor also released respective statements on Tuesday from several of the city's Christian and Jewish leaders siding with Harrell and condemning the weekend 'Rattle in Seattle' protest.
'Mayday's desire is to wrap their personal hate, fear, and bigotry in Christian speak. It won't work,' Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter, a Baptist pastor, said in a statement.
'The call of Jesus to his followers was to first love God and secondly to love our neighbors. In no way does the ideology or bad theology of this fringe group embody the love of God we are to exhibit. Those of us who actually follow the Jesus of the New Testament work to make the welcome tent bigger so that all God's children regardless of sexuality or sexual identity are welcome at the table of love, justice, grace, and mercy.'
Organizers of the 'Rattle in Seattle' protest took issue with the mayor's statement, which they said showed religious bigotry and an attack on their First Amendment rights, and held the rally on Tuesday to protest his remarks.
4 Police made 23 arrests at that demonstration after violence broke out when event organizers, attendees and counter-protesters converged.
KIRO7
'Following the MayDay USA worship event at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, Mayor Harrell had the audacity to issue a press release blaming Christians for the premediated violence of Antifa which resulted in the hospitalization of Seattle Police Department personnel and the arrest of 23 Antifa agitators,' the organizers said in a statement. 'Under Mayor Harrell's leadership, the city of Seattle has continued its spiral into lawlessness and dysfunction while the First Amendment rights of citizens to peacefully assemble has been disregarded.'
Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
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USA Today
29 minutes ago
- USA Today
Tens of thousands march against Hungary's government, for LGBT rights
Crowds in Budapest waved rainbow flags and carried signs mocking Prime Minister Viktor Orban amid a new ban on Pride marches. BUDAPEST, June 28 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Hungary's capital on June 28 as a banned LGBTQ+ rights rally swelled into a mass demonstration against the government. Crowds filled a square near Budapest's city hall before setting off across the city, some waving rainbow flags, others carrying signs mocking Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "This is about much more, not just about homosexuality, .... This is the last moment to stand up for our rights," Eszter Rein Bodi, one of the marchers, said. More: They were out and their companies were proud. Then came the DEI backlash. "None of us are free until everyone is free," one sign read. Small groups of far-right counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the parade, but police kept them away and diverted the route of the march to avoid any clashes. Orban's nationalist government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and its lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride marches, citing the need to protect children. Opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a national election next year when Orban will face a strong opposition challenger. Organizers said participants arrived from 30 different countries, including 70 members of the European Parliament. More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead. Seventy Hungarian civil society groups, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary and the Hungarian Helsinki Commission, published an open letter on June 27 in support of the march, saying the law that led to the police ban "serves to intimidate the entire society". 'Legal consequences' "The right to assembly is a basic human right, and I don't think it should be banned. Just because someone does not like the reason why you go to the street, or they do not agree with it, you still have the right to do so," Krisztina Aranyi, another marcher, said. Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony tried to circumvent the law by organising the march as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit. Police however banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law. Orban, whose government promotes a Christian-conservative agenda, provided some clues on June 27 about what participants can expect when he warned of "legal consequences" for organising and attending the march. Earlier this week Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned in a letter sent to some foreign embassies in Budapest that organizing a prohibited event is punishable by one year in jail, while attending counts as a misdemeanour. The law that allows for the ban of Pride lets police impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. When asked about the threat of a one-year jail term, Karacsony said at a press briefing on June 27 that such a sentence would only boost his popularity. "But I cannot take it seriously," he said. Making the march a key topic of political discourse has allowed the Orban government to take the initiative back from the opposition and mobilise its voter base, said Zoltan Novak, an analyst at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis think tank. "In the past 15 years, Fidesz decided what topics dominated the political world," he said, noting that this has become more difficult as Orban's party has faced an increasing challenge from centre-right opposition leader Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which has a 15-point lead over Orban's Fidesz in a recent poll. Tisza, which has been avoiding taking a strong position on gay rights issues, did not specify in response to Reuters questions whether it believed the Pride march was lawful, but said those attending deserved the state's protection. "Peter Magyar has called on the Hungarian authorities and police to protect the Hungarian people this Saturday, and on other days as well, even if it means standing up against the arbitrariness of power," its press office said. Magyar himself would not attend.
The Hill
42 minutes ago
- The Hill
Sotomayor says public education is doomed without mandatory gay and trans story hour
The end is nigh. That seems to be the message this week from the three liberal justices at the Supreme Court when faced with the nightmarish prospect of parents being able to remove their young children from mandatory classes on gay, lesbian and transgender material. The decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor was a roaring victory for parents in public schools. The Montgomery County, Md. school system fought to require the reading of 13 'LGBTQ+-inclusive' texts in the English and Language Arts curriculum for kids from pre-K through 12th grade. That covers children just 5-11 years old. The children are required to read or listen to stories like 'Prince & Knight' about two male knights who marry each other, and 'Love Violet' about two young girls falling in love. Another, 'Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope,' discusses a biological girl who begins a transition to being a boy. Teachers were informed that this was mandatory reading, which must be assigned, and that families would not be allowed to opt out. The guidelines for teachers made clear that students had to be corrected if they expressed errant or opposing views of gender. If a child questions how someone born a boy could become a girl, teachers were encouraged to correct the child and declare, 'That comment is hurtful!' Even if a student merely asks, 'What's transgender?,' teachers are expected to say, 'When we're born, people make a guess about our gender and label us 'boy' or 'girl' based on our body parts. Sometimes they're right and sometimes they're wrong.' Teachers were specifically told to '[d]isrupt' thinking or values opposing transgender views. Many families sought to opt out of these lessons. The school allows for such opt-outs for a variety of reasons, but the Board ruled out withdrawals for these lessons. Ironically, it noted that so many families were upset and objecting that it would be burdensome to allow so many kids to withdraw. The Montgomery County school system is one of the most diverse in the nation. And Christian, Muslim, and other families objected to the mandatory program as undermining their religious and moral values. The majority on the Supreme Court ruled that, as with other opt-outs, Montgomery County must allow parents to withdraw their children from these lessons. The response from liberal groups was outrage. Liberal sites declared 'another victory for right-wing culture warriors,' even though the public overwhelmingly supported these parents. However, the most overwrought language came not from liberal advocates but liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor declared that there 'will be chaos for this nation's public schools' and both education and children will 'suffer' if parents are allowed to opt their children out of these lessons. She also worried about the 'chilling effect' of the ruling, which would make schools more hesitant to offer such classes in the future. It was a particularly curious concern, since parents would like teachers to focus more on core subjects and show greater restraint in pursuing social agendas. The majority pushed back against 'the deliberately blinkered view' of the three liberal justices on dismissing the objections of so many families to these lessons. Nevertheless, even though such material was only recently added and made mandatory, the liberal justices declared that 'the damage to America's public education system will be profound' and 'threatens the very essence of public education.' The truth is that this decision could actually save public education in the U.S. Previously, during oral argument, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had shocked many when she dismissed the objections of parents, stating that they could simply remove their children from public schools. It was a callous response to many families who do not have the means to pay for private or parochial schools. Yet, it is a view previously expressed by many Democratic politicians and school officials. State Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Wis.) once insisted: 'If parents want to 'have a say' in their child's education, they should homeschool or pay for private school tuition out of their family budget.' Iowa school board member Rachel Wall said: 'The purpose of a public ed is to not teach kids what the parents want. It is to teach them what society needs them to know. The client is not the parent, but the community.' These parents still harbor the apparently misguided notion that these remain their children. Today, many are indeed following Jackson's advice and leaving public schools. The opposition of public-sector unions and many Democratic politicians to school vouchers is precisely because families are fleeing the failing public school systems. Once they are no longer captive to the system, they opt for private schools that offer a greater focus on basic educational subjects and less emphasis on social activism. Our public schools are imploding. Some are lowering standards to achieve 'equity' and graduating students without proficiency skills. Families are objecting to the priority given to political and social agendas to make their kids better people when they lack of math, science, and other skills needed to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace. This decision may well save public schools from themselves by encouraging a return to core educational priorities. It may offer some cover for more moderate school officials to push back against such demands for mandatory readings to young children. What the majority calls 'the deliberately blinkered view' of the dissent could just as well describe the delusional position of public school boards and unions. Schools are facing rising debt and severe declines in enrollment, yet unions in states like Illinois are demanding even more staff increases and larger expenditures. The liberal justices are right about one thing: This is a fight over 'the essence of public education.' However, it is the parents, not the educators (or these justices) who are trying to restore public education to meet the demands for a diverse nation. Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the best-selling author of 'The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.'
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Budapest Pride defies ban as huge crowds march in protest against Hungary's anti-LGBTQ laws
Beneath a blaze of rainbow flags and amid roars of defiance, big crowds gathered in the Hungarian capital Budapest for the city's 30th annual Pride march – an event that, this year, is unfolding as both a celebration and a protest. Moving through the capital in the sweltering heat, demonstrators carried signs reading 'Solidarity with Budapest Pride' and waved placards bearing crossed-out illustrations of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Music played from portable speakers as people of all ages joined the march – families with pushchairs, teenagers draped in capes, and older residents walking alongside activists. From the city's historic centre to its riverside roads, the procession swelled in numbers and noise – visibly reclaiming public space in defiance of a law designed to push them out. The march proceeded in open defiance of a police ban imposed earlier this year under sweeping new legislation that prohibits LGBTQ+ events nationwide. At least 70 members of the European Parliament were expected to join the procession, officials told CNN in May. Van Sparrentak, who is a Dutch MEP from the parliament's 'Greens/European Free Alliance' political group, told CNN that she will be attending Budapest Pride to 'support the LGBTIQ+ community in Hungary, to let them know that they are not alone (and) to be visible as a community.' 'Pride is a protest, and if Orbán can ban Budapest Pride without consequences, every pride is one election away from being banned,' she continued. In March, Hungarian lawmakers passed legislation barring Pride events and permitting the use of facial recognition technology to identify participants – measures campaigners say is illegal and part of a wider crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Orban welcomed the ban, which he said would outlaw gatherings that 'violate child protection laws.' His government has pushed a strongly Christian and conservative agenda. The ban sparked lively protests in Budapest in March, with organizers of the city's Pride vowing to continue with the annual festival despite the new law and declaring: 'We will fight this new fascist ban.' A petition demanding police reject the ban has gathered over 120,000 signatures from supporters in 73 countries, urging authorities to 'reject this unjust law' – believed to be the first of its kind in the EU's recent history – and ensure that the march proceeded 'unhindered and peacefully, free from discrimination, harassment, fear or violence.' CNN's Catherine Nicholls and Billy Stockwell contributed to this report.
