Republican Who Brought Trump To Seattle Challenges Cantwell

SEATTLE, WA - Joey Gibson, the founder of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, will run as a Republican against U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell in 2018. Gibson and Patriot Prayer have held at least four demonstrations in Seattle since last May, and some have culminated in violent clashes with left-wing protesters.

Gibson, a Donald Trump supporter, announced his candidacy Sunday night at an event in Vancouver, Wash., according to Oregon Live. He has set up a campaign website outlining some of his proposals, including "healthcare revolution," "expose Monsanto," and "term limits."

Cantwell is a three-term incumbent with a $4 million war chest. Gibson has acknowledged that unseating Cantwell will be a challenge.

"Long road in front of us," Gibson wrote in Facebook Monday.

Gibson formed Patriot Prayer in early 2017. The group made its first appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally in Berkeley, Calif., in March 2017. That rally is famous because it featured violent clashes between the alt-right and antifascist counter-protesters.

Patriot Prayer held its first demonstration in Seattle - what Gibson calls a "free speech rally" - on May Day 2017. Gibson and several dozen members of the group, some dressed in military-like garb, spoke at Westlake Park on a day typically reserved for wild left-wing protests. Patriot Prayer clashed with people during the demonstration, but there was little violence.

Other local Patriot Prayer appearances include:

• University of Washington College Republicans hosted Gibson and Patriot Prayer as counter-program to campus events perceived as too left wing. Gibson spoke near Red Square, but nearby hundreds of counter-protesters tried to drown him out. Police kept the two sides far apart, although there were several arrests.
• In August, Patriot Prayer held a rally at Westlake Park one day after an attack in Charlottesville, Va., that claimed the life of Heather Heyer, who was attending an anti-Nazi counter-protest. Anti-fascist protesters tried to disrupt Gibson's rally, but police blocked off Westlake.
• In June, Patriot Prayer supported an anti-Muslim demonstration in Seattle aimed at sharia law. At the end of that event, some members of Patriot Prayer clashed with anti-fascist protesters in the Pioneer Square neighborhood.

Patriot Prayer was also linked to Jeremy Joseph Christian, the man accused of stabbing and killing two passengers aboard a MAX train in Portland last May. The two were stabbed as they defended two young Muslim girls from a verbal attack by Christian. He attended Patriot Prayer rallies in Portland, but the group distanced itself from him.

On the other end of the spectrum, socialist Steve Hoffman, a union organizer, will challenge Cantwell from the left.

Photo by Neal McNamara/Patch