The FBI is investigating possible “targeted violence against religious groups” in Seattle after leftists crashed two Christian events over the past week and dozens of people were arrested, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Wednesday.
Seattle police arrested eight people on Tuesday evening on suspicion of assault after an Antifa-style mob clashed with protesters led by the conservative Christian group Mayday USA, The Seattle Times reported. The incident followed a Saturday event hosted by the same religious group in Seattle, where 23 people were arrested in similar clashes, grabbing the FBI’s attention.
“We have asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert,” Bongino said in a Tuesday X post. “Freedom of religion isn’t a suggestion.” (RELATED: ‘Death To The Police’: Antifa Mob Takes Over University Building, Lights Fires Over Gaza War)
Videos posted on X by journalists capturing the Tuesday unrest showed black-clothed protesters surrounding, confronting and shouting at certain individuals, including a woman with a baby, while police worked to guard them. One protester in black suddenly grabbed an attendee’s hat and sprinted away after yelling, “fuck off.”
The King County Prosecutor’s Office told the Daily Caller News Foundation that information on possible charges for Tuesday’s protesters is not yet available, and the FBI declined to comment. However, eight people arrested on Saturday had their first court appearance on Monday and face charges of robbery and third-degree assault, the prosecutor’s office said.
Mayday USA first sparked outrage on Capitol Hill — which The Seattle Times dubbed “the city’s most gay-friendly neighborhood” — on Saturday for its traditional views of gender and sexuality, according to the outlet. The Saturday clashes happened in the same neighborhood as Black Lives Matter riots in 2020 that led to the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ), where police withdrew and surrendered city territory to anarchists for several days.
The group organized Tuesday’s protest at City Hall in response to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell calling the Saturday worship event an “extreme right-wing rally” and appearing to blame Christians for provoking their critics, the DCNF previously reported.
“In our peaceful assembly, we have met the resistance of those who despise truth and seek to silence any voice that does not agree with their worldview,” Mayday USA leaders said in a statement Tuesday. “Nevertheless, we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Let it be known: truth does not retreat in the face of hostility.”
