Seattle Police escalated conflicts during anti-trans rally in 2025, report says

A new review from Seattle’s Office of Inspector General – which scrutinizes police practices -- cites dozens of contributing factors to the “poor outcomes” and clashes between police and counter-protesters around a conservative Christian rally last May in Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill.

The review found that police were in dialogue with the rally organizers but lacked similar dialogue with counter-protesters that could have achieved more peaceful outcomes.

The 10-person panel of police and community members assembled by the inspector general found that SPD’s lack of communication and aggressive police response likely escalated the confrontations with counter-protesters, which resulted in 23 arrests that day and 16 reported uses of force by police. The charges included property destruction and assault, most of which were ultimately dropped, according to the review.

The inspector general used this “sentinel event review” process to reach consensus findings between police and community members about the policing of 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. But this time the review states that the panel dissolved prematurely without consensus findings, because a community member violated the confidentiality agreement and leaked details of the discussions.

"The violation undermined the shared commitment to accountability and trust building,” the review said.

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Inspector General Lisa Judge said despite that setback, these reviews bringing together police and community members are “incredibly valuable and we hope to do it again.” But she said after this outcome the reviews “will involve repair work and scrutiny of our planning processes.”

Police said they did not receive sufficient notice when Seattle Parks and Recreation approved a permit last April for MayDay USA, a Christian fundamentalist movement, to hold a rally dubbed “#DontMesswithOurKids” May 24, 2025, in Cal Anderson Park. The rally was part of a five-city tour promoting anti-LGBTQ+, anti-abortion viewpoints and advocating for “the sanctity of human life [and] the sacrality of biological gender,” according to the review.

“Many in the community expressed concerns leading up to the event, questioning why the City would grant a permit for this rally in the historic heart of the LGBTQ+ community,” the review states.

Community members said the rally also took place in the context of the Trump administration’s hostile rhetoric and executive orders meant to restrict the rights of transgender people.

Meanwhile the review found that the “historic lack of trust between SPD and the LGBTQ+ community” meant that “the significant community concern regarding the rally was not understood by SPD. “

And it said SPD had “outdated assumptions” that “antifa” and “black bloc” are established, hierarchical organizations intent on seeking violent confrontations with police.

Community panel members said they perceive anti-fascists as a loose affiliation of people who oppose a fascist, authoritarian government, and those who dressed in “black bloc” at the counter-protest did so for defensive reasons related to historic police violence.

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What the review calls “anticipatory defensiveness” led police to escalate conflicts by biking into crowds to make arrests after counter-protesters damaged MayDay USA property by tearing down a banner, releasing balloons, and smashing a bubble-making machine.

“SPD crowd management policy and training instruct officers to wait to apprehend subjects until they can make a targeted arrest with a minimal footprint and without escalating the rest of the crowd,” the review said.

The review said deploying “bicycle officers into the crowd to arrest the identified individuals was not consistent with that policy or training and resulted in officers striking numerous peaceful counterdemonstrators without warning or opportunity to move. SPD panelists acknowledged the convergence of officers on the crowd was escalatory and provoked anger from counterdemonstrators who perceived the actions as overhanded and illegitimate.”

Community panelists said the crowd was confused because officers ordered people to “move back” while surrounding the zone on all sides.

They said, “the confusion and uncertainty were exacerbated by SPD engaging in multiple melees and arrests amidst the chaos of the officers riding bicycles quickly into the crowded area.”

For their part “SPD panelists expressed frustration that Seattle Parks and Recreation did not notify the City Attorney’s Office, the SPD Special Operations Center (SPOC), or the Intelligence Unit when the park use permit was approved,” giving them limited time to prepare or contact participants.

On the day of the event, police “were responsible for setting up the bicycle fencing barricade but were not provided with a copy of the permit or Event map.” Without proper instructions and signage, officers “had difficulty explaining the parameters of the permit and the justification for the location of the barricade” to counter-protesters.

The review contains a series of recommendations largely around the themes of SPD seeking dialogue and building trust prior to rallies and protests. It notes that "SPD recently appointed a new LGBTQ+ liaison, who community panelists suggested may be better poised to build connections between police and LGBTQ+ communities and to open lines of communication.” Officer Haden Barton is currently serving in that full-time role.

MayDay USA held two more rallies in Seattle, one outside City Hall and one at Gasworks Park. Last fall the organization sued the city in federal court over its handling of the May 24 event, saying the city's permitting process forced them out of their preferred downtown location and failed to protect participants' First Amendment right to freedom of speech, religion, and assembly.

Update 2/12/2026 4pm: The Seattle Police Department supplied to following statement in response to the inspector general's sentinel event review:

"The City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Department continually work to protect the peace and protect residents’ First Amendment rights. We are committed to improving how we do this, whether by training officers, launching new cultural competency classes, or by learning from our community and accountability partners like the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

We take all the recommendations from the OIG seriously, including those from its Feb. 12 report about SPD’s role at the MayDay USA event in Cal Anderson Park. The Department has already implemented several changes recommended in this report. One example is rebuilding community legitimacy and trust through our dialogues at the Our City, Our Safety meetings being scheduled throughout the city.

SPD will continue to assess additional recommendations and working towards being a better department for all Seattle."