The Seattle LGBT Pride parade on Sunday turned into a chaotic scene as attendees shed their clothes and marched naked through the streets while children watched.
A video posted by Chloe Cole, a de-transitioner activist, shows members of a group called "Friends of Denny Blaine" marching in the nude. Some onlookers applauded and cheered, while the video panned to young children observing the spectacle.
Another video captured naked individuals prancing around an outdoor fountain near children playing in the water.
The "Friends of Denny Blaine" website states that the group is dedicated to protecting Denny Blaine Park, which is known for its "historic nude & queer character." A lawsuit is currently pending against the park due to its graphic nature.
Signs held by the marchers read "Nude ≠ Lewd," "Free to be Naked," and "Nude is Nourishing." However, some spectators shielded the eyes of children from the nude bodies.
Another video shows naked men cycling in the parade, receiving applause and appreciation from the crowd, although some onlookers covered the eyes of children from the nudity.
The video also captures scenes of children splashing in the water near the Seattle Center International Fountain, just feet from several naked men and one naked woman.
Pride Month, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, came to a close in June. In 1999, then-President Bill Clinton declared June as the "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month," and the celebrations have become increasingly explicit since gay marriage was codified in 2015.
The videos of nude demonstrators sparked online outrage from viewers shocked by the indecent display.
"How is this not indecent exposure? Wtf?" one user said. "Why the f*ck would you take your children to see and celebrate this vile filthy celebration of perversion and degeneracy?" asked another.
The Seattle municipal code does not specifically address public nudity, and the Seattle Police Department has stated that being naked in Seattle is not a crime in itself.
However, public nudity can be considered indecent exposure if it causes a person to reasonably experience fear, alarm, or concern, according to the police department.
Washington's indecent exposure law states that a person is guilty of the crime if they intentionally make any open and obscene exposure of their person or another, knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm.
The law also specifies that indecent exposure is a misdemeanor on the first offense if the person exposes themselves to a person under the age of 14 years.
The Seattle Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on whether anyone was arrested during the city's pride festivities.
Mayor Katie Wilson's Office also did not return a request for comment.
