SPOKANE, Wash. – The City of Spokane and several current and former city council members are being sued by far-right pastor Sean Feucht, stemming from a Christian worship event last August, in which several controversial figures attended.
The 30-page lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court on Wednesday names the city, former Council President Lori Kinnear, former Council Member Karen Stratton, current Council President Betsy Wilkerson and current Council Member Zack Zappone as defendants.
It all stems from the Feucht-hosted “Let Us Worship” event on August 20 at the Podium, which was originally scheduled to be held outdoors at the Spokane Pavilion, but had to be moved indoors due poor air quality from the Gray and Oregon Road fires.
At that event, then-Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward appeared on stage with Feucht and former Washington State Representative Matt Shea.
Woodward’s appearance was highly controversial, due to Shea’s past involvement with domestic extremism and political violence, and both Shea and Feucht’s anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs,
She later denounced Shea and his beliefs in an interview with NonStop Local KHQ.
It led the city council to pass a formal resolution “denouncing Woodward’s appearance with Shea and the implications of her accepting his support” a month later, at its meeting on September 25.
Kinnear, Wilkerson, Zappone and Stratton voted to approve the resolution, which is why they were named as defendants in Feucht’s lawsuit. Current Council Members Jonathan Bingle and Michael Cathcart, and then-Council Member Ryan Oelrich voted against it.
That resolution is what led Feucht to file his lawsuit on Wednesday, which claims the resolution was passed by council to target Feucht’s “sincere religious practice” and violated his right to free speech.
Feucht talked about the lawsuit in a May 31 appearance at Shea’s church, On Fire Ministries: “We are taking a stand against the bigotry and hatred of Christians in the city of Spokane, and we’re not backing down.”
It’s important to note the resolution itself was more symbolic than anything–while it denounced Woodward, it didn’t have any real consequences if she or any other Spokane city official appeared with Shea or Feucht in the future.
Feucht claims he’s seeking damages due to “emotional distress and other non-economic damages,” the full amount of which isn’t listed in the lawsuit, where attorneys for Feucht argue the total “will be proved at trial.”
Feucht is also asking for an injunction from the court, so that no government leader should be condemned by city officials for interacting with him due to his religious beliefs, and a decision by a judge that the council had no authority to pass its September resolution.
NonStop Local KHQ attempted to contact Feucht and his attorneys for a comment on this story, but didn’t hear back.
Each of the current and former city council members named as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as a City of Spokane spokesperson, declined to comment, all citing the fact that they couldn’t or didn’t want to comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit is currently scheduled for a status hearing in early September.
