During Sunday’s Seattle Pride event, a street preacher known as “The Seattle Preacher,” Matthew Meinecke, had his Bible destroyed as he read it aloud. Attendees heckled him and waved transgender pride flags in his face, as seen in the video. The event brought together a variety of participants, including furs, naked adults standing in fountains in front of children, and naked men riding bicycles.
Jonathan Choe, a journalist from the Discovery Institute, shared a video in which the attacker can be heard saying to Meinecke, who was tearing pages from a Bible, “Have fun doing this at a Pride event when nobody wants you to.”
Throughout the altercation, you can hear both security and the perpetrator’s friends pleading with the person to refrain.
Meinecke was quoted in Choe’s video saying “Man, it’s religion. You can’t treat me different because of my religion.” Reports claim he was carrying signs at a Pride event, surrounded by attendees and security personnel.
This is not the first time he has been involved in such protests. He was detained twice in 2022 for attending a Pride event and an anti-abortion rally, respectively, according to ChurchLeaders.
As church leaders claim, Meinecke’s Bible was desecrated, beaten, and even flushed down a makeshift toilet. Such acts are unacceptable and go against the principles of respect and tolerance necessary for peaceful coexistence.