The Wire - May 27, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z May 27, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: UKRAINE WAR RHETORIC INTENSIFIES. STATEMENTS CONTINUE FOLLOWING WEEKEND RIOT IN SEATTLE. DETAILS EMERGE REGARDING LAST WEEK'S VANDALISM IN TEXAS.//

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-International Events-

Europe: Rhetoric concerning the war in Ukraine continues to escalate, as both President Trump and the Kremlin trade insults and less-than-friendly messaging. In response to the latest Russian drone strikes in Ukraine, President Trump stated that Putin was "playing with fire" regarding these developments. In response to this, former Russian Prime Minister (and current Deputy Chair of Russia's Security Council) Dmitry Medvedev stated that the "bad thing" that President Trump alluded to is WW3.

AC: This is a classic Medvedev statement; invoking threats of WW3 is a fairly standard Tuesday for Dima, as Medvedev (echoing his former role as Prime Minister) often serves as the more informal conveyor of what Putin is thinking. To the casual observer it may not seem like it, but the situation is not openly hostile yet. However, the diplomacy being conducted between the United States and Russia is heating up nonetheless.

-HomeFront-

Pennsylvania: Overnight, a small arms engagement was reported at Lemon Hill Park in Philadelphia. 2x were killed, and 9x others were wounded. 1x person was also struck by a vehicle during the fray caused by the shooting. Local authorities state that three separate shooters have been counted as partaking in the incident, based on the shell casings found at the scene.

AC: Very few details have been released regarding the cause of the shooting, or why a large group of people was gathered in this park late at night. At first glance this appears to be a gang shooting and/or the result of a domestic dispute, though more details are needed.

Texas: More details have come to light following acts of vandalism that were reported throughout Austin last week. Three separate facilities were defaced with graffiti on May 21st, and yesterday it became known that all three facilities were linked to various Islamic institutions in the area. One was a Mosque and the other two sites were cultural centers. A vigil has been scheduled for May 29th in response to the acts of vandalism, and the Austin Police Department has announced a rigorous increase in patrols, along with undercover operations to prevent further vandalism.

Washington: A small riot broke out over the weekend in Seattle as a concert and prayer vigil was held in Cal Anderson Park. The event, which largely involved various performances by Christian musical groups and various prayer vigils, was hosted by Pursuit Northwest, a local Christian organization. The event (which was permitted and approved by the government), became host to violence as ANTIFA activists arrived and began assaulting the police officers guarding the perimeter of the event. 27x rioters were arrested for assaulting police at the event. None of the event participants were arrested; 100% of the violence took place between ANTIFA activists and police. However, all of the rioters who assaulted police were immediately released by a local judge on Monday.

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Analyst Comments: Though it may be surprising to some, the events over the weekend in Seattle are not out of the ordinary, and merely reflect the regional norm when it comes to those who practice the Christian faith in the region. Any type of display of Christianity in Seattle is usually met with violence, so the outcome being violence conducted on those attending the event was to be expected. In this case, extreme violence was very much going to be the result from the very start...holding a prayer vigil in a park named after the first openly gay Congressman in Washington was very much going to result in a kinetic response by locals.

However, one important detail that has come to light is that this exact park, Cal Anderson Park, was suggested by the city as having enough space for the event when the group applied for it's permit. This confirms that the Mayor's earlier statements that the group intentionally chose the park for their prayer event for malicious reasons is indeed, a lie. The permitting office chose the venue, not the group itself.

Also expected is quite literally every single entity involved blaming the prayer group for having the audacity to hold a properly-permitted event in the park. The Seattle Police Officer's Guild has expressed anger not solely at the ANTIFA members who showed up and began beating their officers, but at the City's Parks and Recreation Department for issuing the Christian group a legal permit to be there. Likewise, every single government entity in Seattle that is involved in this situation has condemned not the rioters who started the violence, but those who had a legal permit to pray in public. Similarly all mainstream media sources have condemned the Christian group for being there, and not the actual rioters.

This may be an uncomfortable reality for many to acknowledge, as it seems unthinkable for this kind of thing to happen in the United States. It is simply unimaginable that in the United States, a Christian group can hold a government-approved prayer vigil in public, and the media and police alike blame the Christians when violent rioters show up and cause problems. But this is indeed exactly what happened. This is simply the reality of how far the persecution of Christianity has gone in this area...a norm that is not new by any means, but is becoming more solidified and openly and proudly stated even by some government agencies at this point.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
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