On Monday, Liberty Counsel will present oral argument to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Christian organizers of the grassroots revival event Mayday USA who were denied a worship and prayer event on Seattle’s Pike Street, a traditional public forum. The organizers argue that the city denied them a special event permit based on their religious viewpoint in violation of their First Amendment rights of free speech, assembly, and free exercise of religion. 

Oral arguments will take place Monday, October 26, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. PT at the William K. Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle, Washington.

In Johnson v. City of Seattle, a U.S District court previously denied a preliminary injunction against Seattle’s unconstitutional event permit process and Liberty Counsel is appealing that decision.

Liberty Counsel represents lead Mayday USA organizers Russell Johnson, lead pastor of The Pursuit, a Christian church in Washington; Jenny Donnelly, founder and president of Her Voice Movement, Inc.; and other lead organizers Robert Donnelly and Ross Johnston. The Seattle defendants are former Mayor Bruce Harrell and former Chief of Police Shon Barnes.

The district court denied the injunction request not on the merits of the claims but due to a “lack of standing” since Mayday USA currently has no future pending event requests where constitutional harm might again take place. While the court allowed Mayday USA’s claims of past constitutional violations to proceed, Liberty Counsel asserts there is still standing for potential future harm since the permit scheme, as it was enforced against Mayday USA, acts as a prior restraint on where a message can be expressed posing a real censorship threat—a First Amendment violation. Thus, the plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction restraining the city from continuing its unlawful permitting process to protect against any future violations while the past violation is still under scrutiny in the lower court. 

The reply brief states that Seattle’s permit process required Mayday USA organizers to obtain “comments and objections” from non-government actors, such as the Downtown Seattle Association, prior to obtaining a permit. In denying the permit, the city did so based on viewpoint as influenced by outside organizations rather than making the permit decision in a neutral manner regarding its content. Liberty Counsel argues that this requirement to canvas the public is a “prior restraint” on protected speech. 

The Mayday USA organizers sought to hold an event to worship, advocate against abortion and human trafficking, and advocate for protecting children and the family unit. However, Seattle officials unconstitutionally denied the Pike Street location based on the organizers’ viewpoint and redirected them to Cal Anderson Park in a predominantly “LGBTQ+ community,” where violent attacks from agitators ensued during their event on May 24, 2025, whereby police shut down the event.

At the event, violent protestors assaulted attendees and volunteers by throwing urine-filled water balloons, used pepper-spray and tear gas, brandished weapons, destroyed equipment, and lobbed violent threats at women and children. Yet, the police made no arrests. Even though city officials urged organizers to choose Cal Anderson Park when denying their original Pike Street location request, Mayor Harrell stated that the event was held in an LGBTQ community to “provoke a reaction” by “inherently opposing the city’s values.” He blamed the peaceful Mayday organizers for the violence they suffered rather than the perpetrators while other religious sects and leaders joined in to condemn Mayday’s religious speech.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Seattle’s permitting process acted as an unconstitutional prior restraint on the religious speech of the Mayday USA organizers. They have standing to pursue an injunction because their peaceful public expression of Christian viewpoints was treated differently than secular messages by not being allowed in the city’s traditional Pike Street public forum. The city’s unconstitutional permitting scheme cannot withstand First Amendment scrutiny and causes irreparable harm to free speech.”