The Day Christian Nationalism Came to Seattle's Famous 'Gayborhood'
When the New Apostolic Reformation 'Apostle' Jenny Donnelly brought her anti-LGBTQ+ worship tour to Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood the community pushed back, and there are lessons to be learned
Depending on who you ask, Mayday USA’s tour stop in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on May 24 was either a riot where Antifa thugs attacked peaceful Christian concert-goers with water balloons full of urine or it was a fascist anti-LGBTQ+ rally organized by a hate group and a domestic terrorist in the heart of Seattle’s historic “gayborhood” and former CHAZ/CHOP zone that saw the Seattle Police Department brutalize counter protestors with little to no provocation.
Mayday’s Seattle event over Memorial Day Weekend was just one of the tour’s five stops in major cities across the country last month, but it was by far the most eventful. While the veracity of urine-filled water balloons is in doubt what’s clear in the public record is that 23 people were arrested. The events sparked an FBI investigation and Mayor Bruce Harrell’s response led to a second protest event three days later in front of Seattle City Hall where eight more arrests were made.
What made Mayday’s stop in Seattle unique were two things missing from its New York, Miami, Houston and LA events – Matt Shea and a location that’s sacred to the LGBTQ+ community.
Shea is a disgraced former Washington State legislator turned Christian nationalist preacher and podcaster with a penchant for conspiracy theories. He’s best known for aiding far-right militia actions like the Bundy family takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016 and for authoring a now-infamous pamphlet called “The Biblical Basis for War” which, Chrissy Stroop writes: “argued it was God’s will for Christians to ‘kill all males’ who support abortion, same-sex marriage, ‘idolatry,’ ‘communism,’ or [who] otherwise refuse to ‘obey Biblical law.’”
After a non-partisan investigation found that he aided domestic terrorists he was censured by his own party and drummed out of politics. He then founded an organization in the Spokane Valley called “On Fire Ministries.”
Loathed by any Washingtonian left of Condoleezza Rice, Shea got top billing in the efforts to raise a counter protest in the days ahead of Mayday’s stop in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park.
The park, named after the state’s first openly gay state legislator, is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. It’s famous for its rainbow crosswalks and culture of protest. Two days before Mayday Seattle, the Seattle Chapter of Radical Women sent out a press release about the event, noting Shea’s involvement.
“The Mayday USA rally in Seattle is provocatively being held in the heart of the Queer community. It is part of a 5-city national tour. Reactionary preacher and former Spokane Valley state representative Matt Shea, of the ‘On Fire Ministries,’ is one of the prominent supporters,” they wrote.
The call to action worked and on Saturday the number of counter-protestors matched and at times exceeded the number of folks who had come to worship and pray. Some of the protestors came with homemade signs mentioning Shea specifically.
“Matt Shea is a terrorist and a fucking loser,” one read.
But it was actually Jenny Donnelly who was the real reason everyone was there.
Donnelly is a former multi-level marketer-turned charismatic Christian “apostle” and founder of Teletestai Ministries as well as the co-founder of a non-denominational Christian nationalist church called “The Collective.” She’s the woman who brought the anti-LGBTQ+ #DontMessWithOurKids Movement to the US from Peru. It’s a far-right astroturf movement tied to the conspiracy theory that there’s an international “gay agenda” advanced by nefarious actors like George Soros and Satan himself to subvert Christian values and usher in legal pedophilia. Donnelly’s a self described “Momma Bear” who has received financial support from the extremist group Moms for Liberty for past projects.
Calls for Spiritual Warfare, References to Genocide, and Taunts for the Crowd
Like many ultra-conservative religious movements created and organized by women, Mayday was dominated by men.
Before taking to the stage to lead communion Shea weaved through the friendly part of the crowd, checking in with the private security team of men he brought with him from across the state.
When it was his time to speak he declared God’s dominion over Seattle, the United States, and the world while framing life as a “true Christian” as an epic struggle against the forces of darkness in a spiritual “war.”
“Our greatest weapon of warfare—our greatest weapon of warfare is communion,” Shea said. “So right now we’re gonna take communion.”
He and others on stage spoke directly to the counter-protestors at times, which heightened tensions as the day went on. Jay Koopman with Harvest Rock Church in California told the counter-protestors that he wasn’t used to facing this much pushback.
“I got to tell you Seattle, this is probably one of the biggest group of protestors I have ever seen,” he said.
Then he addressed their supporters. He called them “Gideon’s Army,” and said they had come to build an altar on enemy territory. He was referencing the Old Testament book of Judges, in which Gideon defeats a far superior Midianite army numbering 135,000 with just 300 warriors.
“How many of you believe this is holy ground?” Koopman asked.
Seattle Police officers, many with wooden batons in hand, stood with their backs to the 400-500 concert-goers and faced the crowd of about 500 or 600 counter-protestors who had gathered on the other side of metal barricades set to keep space between the two crowds. Many of the counter protestors, holding signs with phrases like “Keep Your Bibles Off Our Bodies” and “Trans Rights Are Human Rights,” jeered at the speakers on stage.
Some counter protestors were Christians who take issue with what they see as Christian nationalism passing off intolerance and bigotry as if they are Christian virtues.
“I’m a queer pastor. People have been using the name of God for harm and violence against the queer community and against lots of other people for literally thousands of years and I’m just tired of it,” Reverend Kate Crisci said. “Cap Hill is our sacred space. Before queer people were even welcomed in the church they were welcomed in clubs, they were welcomed in bars, and they were welcomed in parks like this rainbow crosswalks.”
But Donnelly’s mentee and self-described "prophetess" Folake Kellogg said they were there to love, not to hate. Kellogg is an immigrant and originally from Nigeria and she and her husband help lead The Collective’s Cashmere, Washington branch. She believes God speaks to her in her dreams and there’s no such thing as LGBTQ+.
“I believe that God did not make anybody LGBTQ,” she said. “I believe it’s a choice.”
The event featured a “pray the gay away” story from Ellie Barrows, the tour’s resident reformed lesbian. She took to the stage to share her story amid boos and jeers from counter protestors.
“My name’s Ellie and when I was 17 years old I found myself stuck in a homosexual relationship with a girl that I had met at church camp,” she said. “But I’m telling you that in a single moment I empowered the love of Jesus, he met me, he empowered me and he set me free!”
Now she’s married to a man and shares her happy heterosexual marriage one post at a time on Instagram.
Throughout the entire event Donnelly’s band never stopped playing music for fear of being drown out by the noise from the crowd of counter protestors with megaphones, boomboxes and a variety of portable noisemakers. After Barrows, Koopman came back on stage and said he was going to make some calls and get a couple hundred “good friends” who are “church people” to come swell their ranks within the next hour. The announcement was met with sarcastic taunts from a defiant crowd of counter protestors.
When the Tension Started
Early on a barricade went down and SPD officers went to work.
Austen Rioux, an administrative assistant for Seattle’s Freedom Socialist Party, was at the center of the first wave of arrests. He said that while a barricade did get pushed over, they were set up on a hill and no one was making an effort to close the gap between counter protestors and police officers when it went down.
“By the time we looked over the cops were stepping over that fallen fence and grabbed a couple people, pepper spraying folks,” Rioux said. “And folks in that line were stumbling back to get away from police.”
Rioux said that although he broke no law or impeded SPD officers in any way he was pepper sprayed and arrested. You can see a photo of that arrest in progress via The Seattle Times here.
After the initial waves of arrests that saw Rioux and about 11 others taken away in the back of police vans, SPD officials called in backup from the Washington State Patrol and pulled Donnelly aside. She said they advised her to cut the event short, and although she complained about later she took that advice.
Large horse troughs filled with water in anticipation of baptisms were tipped over. The water mixed with the soil of Cal Anderson Park as Koopman led a hurried altar call for funds.
“I want you to bring your cash, whatever you got, and give an offering on the altar right now,” he said.
There was also a QR code or folks could text “GIVE” to a mobile number onscreen, he said, and urged people to give to show the opposition they’re not afraid.
“I want all those protestors to see that we don’t ever back down!,” Koopman yelled.
After they left counter protestors swarmed into the space left by the retreating concert-goers stamping through the mud. Chanting “Fuck you Fascists!,” the crowd pushed Seattle police back to the edge of the park before SPD established a new barricade line with bicycles and their bodies.
In one section an elderly man was pushed to the ground by SPD officers and tempers among the counter-protestors flared. You can watch a clip that includes that confrontation here.
Within hours of the event’s premature end Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released a statement calling it an “far-right rally” meant to inflame tensions. He blamed the arrests on “anarchists” who had “infiltrated” the counter protestors.
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
Donnelly and fellow Mayday Seattle headliner and Pastor of Pursuit NW, Russell Johnston, seized the opportunity to go on the attack. Rail-thin, bespectacled and as gangly as many of the Gen Z members who attend his multi-site church, the media-savvy Johnston had been one of just 100 pastors invited to the White House in late April for private tours with Trump’s “spiritual advisor” Dana White. They were also led in a praise and worship session led by Christian nationalist celebrity pastor Sean Feucht to celebrate Trump’s first 100 days in office.
Some of the common characteristics among all the elite pastors invited are a dedication to mixing politics and religion, talent for marketing their Christian nationalist messages and a sense of reactionary defensiveness against any attacks against the patriarchy – real or imaginary.
Girded by the fact that he had the ear of those in power in Washington D.C., Russell devoted his sermon the next morning to haranguing Harrell and calling for faithful Christians to join him and Donnelly on the steps of the Seattle City Hall to protest and demand the Seattle mayor’s resignation on Tuesday, May 27.
They dubbed it the “Rattle in Seattle” and minutes before it was set to begin a visibly-excited Donnelly went live on Facebook with big news.
“I have an incredible announcement for you,” Donnelly said. “The FBI just announced that there is an official investigation being done (about) what happened here.”
Eight more counter-protestors were arrested at the Tuesday protest and the city faced criticism from those on the left who said Seattle PD gave undue deference and protection to the Christian protestors. They also noted that Donnelly and Johnston’s people were allowed to set up a stage and sound system in the roadway without any permits.
But the next day Johnson was on Fox News with Laura Inghram telling his version of events above a chyron that read “Christians Are Not Welcome In Seattle.”
“We were swarmed by hundreds of Antifa militants,” he said.
Not only that, but they were throwing “water balloons filled with urine,” he said.
Johnson, Donnelly and others said they never wanted to hold Mayday Seattle at Cal Anderson Park. They said their first choice was Pike Place Market, but the City of Seattle denied them a permit.
But Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., Senior Christian Scholar with the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore and author of “The Violent Take It By Force,” said Donnelly, Johnson, Koopman, Shea and others are looking for venues that will lead to conflict and create a story.
Taylor is the leading expert on Donnelly, Sean Feucht and other charismatic evangelical Christians who make up the leadership of the New Apostolic Reformation, which you can learn more about here.
“Their choices of venues are often a mix of their theological motivations (how to stage a public confrontation with what they view as demonic government or cultural entities), practicality (what is available), and performative (what will be the biggest spectacle),” Taylor wrote in an email. “Part of this playbook—which was really experimentally written by Sean Feucht in 2020-2021 with Let Us Worship, and has now been perfected through many iterations – is to do whatever they can to draw out a confrontational counter-protest. That gives them a foil and they can claim persecution based on their caricatured portrayal of that opposition.”
Days later Donnelly and her crew touched down in LA for the fifth and final Mayday USA event and found themselves immediately at loggerheads with that city as well.
“We found out the city of Los Angeles permitted a pride festival next weekend on the exact street that they told us we couldn’t gather,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
So they shut down Hollywood Boulevard and held Mayday LA in the street. Again, without permits. And again, no arrests were made.
After seeing how much attention Donnelly’s Mayday got from the rightwing media and in the halls of power in Washington D.C., Feucht announced that he’ll be bringing his “Revive in ‘25” tour to Cal Anderson Park on August 30.
I plan on covering that as well.
The cultiest cult!! How do people still fall for this?! We walk around with computers in our pockets and people are still this dumb. That description of sheas pamphlet is scary! This is not normal.
Thank goodness that there are pastors willing to go protest this nonsense too! Christians are reading from the same book and coming up with vastly different interpretations of what a good Christian should be doing and saying. I don’t get all of the hate, I really don’t.
As always thank you Dominick for doing this work!
TDominuc, thank you so much for being there