The June 10 event is coming to Seattle after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler urged that the event in Oregon be canceled after two men were fatally stabbed and a third wounded on a transit train May 26.
A “March Against Sharia” rally scheduled for June 10 in Portland has been moved to Seattle.
Similar rallies are planned around the country by a group known as ACT for America. The events target sharia, which is guidance developed from the Quran that helps shape the legal systems in many Islamic countries.
Currently the event is requested to be held at Victor Steinbrueck Park, and no accompanying march is scheduled, according to an email to The Seattle Times from Chris Swenson, a Seattle city official.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler urged that the event in Oregon be canceled after two men were fatally stabbed and a third wounded — on a MAX transit train May 26. The victims had come to the aid of two teenage girls as a man yelled anti-Muslim taunts. One of the girls was wearing traditional Muslim dress.
The suspected attacker, Jeremy Christian, has been charged in the killings.
Wheeler said the city’s “anger is real,” and the rally by what he labeled an “alt-right group” could exacerbate “an already difficult situation.”
Scott Ryan Presler, of ACT for America, in a statement posted this week on Facebook, denied it was an “alt right group.” He accused Wheeler of making inflammatory comments that could “endanger participants,” and he announced the event would move to Seattle.
Wheeler also asked that another Portland event, a “Free Speech” rally scheduled by Trump supporters for Sunday, be canceled. That event, however, is still scheduled as planned, and it is expected to draw a heavy police presence over concerns about clashes with left-wing, anti-fascist militants.