Father Gerald Murray, speaking out on Newsmax on Sunday about last week's protests in Seattle, said it is "ridiculous" that Mayor Bruce Harrell blamed the scuffles between factions on those attending a conservative rally rather than the protesters.
"I guess the mayor doesn't believe in free speech because you can't have rallies unless he approves of your message," Murray told Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda." "This is ridiculous... why is it that the mayor is sympathetic to one group of people exercising constitutional rights, whereas he denigrates the others as far-right? This is precisely why the United States is in crisis."
According to reports, fights broke out at Seattle's Cal Anderson Park last weekend during the MayDay USA "Don't Mess With Our Kids" rally and counterprotesters, leading to police making 23 arrests.
Harrell, a Democrat, released a statement after the demonstration that blamed the Christian rally for instigating the violence.
"Remember, during the Antifa riots, people were assaulting federal courthouses, and it was a passive attitude being shown to that," Murray said in response.
"We live in a country where everyone has the right to religious freedom and freedom of speech," he added. "When government officials decide which message they will permit to be protected and allowed and happily welcomed at any site, when they get that power, they've gone away from democracy. This is serious."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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