For The Seattle Stranger: The Cal Anderson Prayer Rally Was a Coordinated Attack

WSC Executive Director Amy Herzfeld-Copple reflects on what inclusive communities can do when national authoritarian groups come to town in this latest editorial for The Stranger, published on Friday June 13th. Read the original article here.

This Pride season, Seattle isn’t just celebrating—it’s under siege. A roadshow of organized bigots has rolled into town, and if you think these anti-LGBTQ events are just local drama, think again. This is a national playbook—refined under Trump, reloaded for 2025.

These aren’t one-off stunts; they’re coordinated attacks. These provocateurs and bigoted actors are targeting inclusive cities like Seattle, hiding behind disingenuous claims of “free speech” and “religious liberty” to push an authoritarian agenda. But what really drives these events is baiting backlash, spinning resistance into persecution, and intimidating local leaders into silence—or goading them into missteps they can exploit.

We’ve seen this playbook before. During Trump’s first term, the Pacific Northwest became an extremist testing ground, with Portland at the center. In 2017, white nationalist networks stormed into the Rose City—armed, aggressive, and eager to provoke. Local officials were caught off guard. Responses were delayed and contradictory, which helped extremists fill the vacuum by manufacturing chaos and growing their influence. The result was years of anti-democracy rallies and violence that turned Portland into a national hub of authoritarian activity at a critical moment in the first Trump administration. Many other cities, including Seattle, had their own experiences with bad actors attempting to iterate on the same playbook; it often felt like our friends around the country looked to Portland as a portent of their future problems.

But through organizing and hard-earned lessons, Portland adapted. City leaders passed a resolution condemning white supremacy. Public agencies received trainings to identify and counter bigoted organizing. Community organizations like ours helped build new coordination between civil society and government to prevent political violence. When Portland anticipated another large-scale rally in 2019, the city responded in unified fashion, bringing elected officials, community leaders, and law enforcement together to denounce hate. Leaders had been bracing for violence, but instead the rally was smaller than projected, and it fizzled fast. 

Still, this wasn’t a clean victory. Coordination was inconsistent, and earlier delays allowed anti-democracy groups to build power and test hateful tactics they would use elsewhere. Aggressive and unaccountable policing only undermined public trust and further inflamed tensions. The far-right media machine had already painted Portland as a symbol of liberal failure. That narrative only emboldened the extremist movement targeting the city. But Portland didn’t cave. Organizers continued to reject hate, and eventually, with a shift in law enforcement focus to violent anti-democracy actors, the rallies petered out. 

Seattle now faces a similar inflection point.

Following the anti-LGBTQ events in May, more are already planned for August. Organizers are laying rhetorical traps, framing local opposition to bigotry as “religious discrimination”—a tactic we’ve seen succeed in the courts of public opinion and policy. 

This isn’t just about Seattle or Pride. It’s part of a national strategy to undermine our cities’ inclusive values, provoke public backlash, and invoke a response from the Trump administration. Just look to Los Angeles as a recent example of a city that stepped up to defend its Latinx and immigrant communities only to watch Trump weaponize the National Guard against its residents.

And the stakes are rising. GLAAD’s 2024 tracker has already documented over 900 anti-LGBTQ incidents this year. These attacks are increasingly focused on inclusive communities, where hate groups aim to fracture trust between local leaders and residents. And with the Trump administration, we know this playbook will expand—as federal agencies become more openly weaponized against dissenting cities.

To be prepared, Seattle officials must lead by issuing a clear public message affirming that diverse communities are foundational to the city’s civic life. Leaders must plan proactively by uniting community organizers, safety coalitions, public agencies, and mutual aid networks. Seattle law enforcement needs plans to prioritize de-escalation, before more bad actors descend on the city aiming to destabilize trust in local government. Finally, city officials must clearly name the threat: we are being targeted by groups that want to build momentum for widespread authoritarianism and incite political violence. 

Portland’s experience shows that when cities act with unity and purpose, provocateurs lose momentum. When we wait, consequences multiply—more disinformation, more intimidation, and more fear that our civic institutions will fold when tested.

Cities like Seattle are on the frontlines of a larger fight over who belongs in public, whose voices matter, and whether inclusive democracy can withstand coordinated pressure. The outcome here will signal what happens next—regionally and nationwide.

We know what’s coming. We’ve seen it before. Now is the time for Seattle leaders to act with courage and conviction.