By Erica C. Barnett
On Tuesday, PubliCola exclusively reported (via Bluesky) that the anti-LGBTQ organizers of the August 30 “Revive in ’25” event planned for Cal Anderson Park, in the heart of Seattle’s historic LGBTQ neighborhood, agreed to move the event to Gas Works Park. The city’s Parks Department issued a permit on Tuesday afternoon that will allow Sean Feucht’s “Let Us Worship” group to use Gas Works from 9 am to 9 pm.
The group’s voluntary relocation to a less provocative (and transit-accessible) location came after the city effectively threw up its hands, determining that Parks did not have the legal authority, under the First Amendment, to deny the permit or move the event to another location that Feucht hadn’t requested.
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The city has denied a permit to a similar group in the past—telling Pursuit NW Pastor Russell Johnson’s Mayday USA group they couldn’t rally at a site near Pike Place Market earlier this year—but the reasons were logistical, not content-based: According to emails discussing the event, the city’s special events office rejected the permit because of overcrowding and complaints about access and notification from residents and businesses.
As we reported last week (original story here), the city, on the advice of City Attorney Ann Davison, decided it couldn’t legally justify denying the permit to Feucht’s group, or did not want to take on the risk of a potentially precedent-setting First Amendment lawsuit.
PubliCola has requested a copy of the permit.
Update: About two hours after PubliCola reported on the new permit, the city announced the relocation of Feucht’s event.
Mayor Bruce Harrell and Joy Hollingsworth, who represents the council district (3) that includes Capitol Hill and negotiated with its organizers to move it away from Cal Anderson, said in a joint statement, “Recognizing that Cal Anderson Park is an important gathering space for our LGBTQ+ residents and receiving their feedback on the event location, we worked with the organizers to suggest alternative park locations. After that conversation, the organizers have agreed to move their event to Gas Works Park. We are grateful that they were receptive to our recommendation.”
Feucht’s group posted on Facebook that they still plan to hold a “Jesus March” on Capitol Hill starting at 3:30 pm before the event officially kicks off at Gas Works at 5pm. It’s unclear whether the group needs, or has sought, a permit to hold its march.
Update August 20: The Seattle Department of Transportation said Feucht’s group had not sought a street use permit from them for the Jesus March, and directed us to the city’s Special Events Office. Asked if the group had applied for a special events permit, the office referred us to the mayor’s office. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said, “We are not aware of a planned ‘Jesus March,’ and the organizers have not submitted an application to hold a march in or around Cal Anderson Park.”
Editor’s note: In a concession to the many Fremont residents who wrote to complain that Gas Works Park is not in Fremont but in Wallingford, I took “Fremont” out of the headline and story. Although this debate is tangential to the subject at hand, I remember this debate springing up a while back—is it “East Fremont” or “South Wallingford”?—and I don’t consider it settled law. But in the interest of peace, I’ve removed all references to the park’s location.