Two men carrying an American flag and signs with anti-Hindu messages stormed into a Diwali celebration at the Seattle Center Armory on Nov. 7, interrupting youth cultural performances before bystanders pushed them toward the exit. The young dancers on stage never stopped moving, finishing the number even as the confrontation unfolded behind them.
According to The Seattle Times, one sign read “Stop Hindu replacement of Christians,” while a second carried by the pair used an anti-Hindu slur. The disruption happened during a dance depicting the defeat of the demon Narakasura. Families in attendance were shaken by the incident, according to the same report. Witnesses who intervened, including some Seattle Kraken fans in attendance, rushed the men toward the door. Religion News Service reported the agitators were identified as Jake Lang and Thomas Allen, and that “the young performers on stage, who could only see the back of the placards, kept dancing throughout.”
Dancers Continue Performance Amid Disruption
The Anga Kala Kathak Academy students performing Bharatnatyam on the festival stage continued dancing through the disruption, according to the Seattle Times. They said the bystanders who intervened reminded them what a community should look like, and vowed to keep dancing and sharing their culture, hoping others would stand with them.
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and represents good defeating evil, the Times noted. Capitol Hill Seattle reported that no arrests had been announced following the incident. The Indian American Community Services, per Northwest Asian Weekly, thanked those who intervened to remove the demonstrators.
Officials Condemn the Disruption
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said in a statement that the city condemns “the hateful nonsense from bigots who interrupted a beautiful Diwali ceremony at Seattle Center,” according to Capitol Hill Seattle. King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said those who came to spread fear would not define the holiday or the county. Seattle Center and festival organizers underscored ongoing security and safety coordination across the Festál cultural series following the confrontation, the outlet reported.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal and colleagues are drafting a letter to the Department of Justice, and several lawmakers condemned the disruption of the South Asian festival of lights, according to the Seattle Times. Jayapal condemned what she described as racist rhetoric fueling violence against Indian Americans.
Backgrounds of the Men Identified at the Scene
Federal court records show Jake Lang participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection and spent years behind bars before being pardoned by Donald Trump in 2025, per the Seattle Times. The Times also reported that Lang used homophobic slurs at a Seattle cat adoption event the same weekend. Thomas Allen was charged in Oregon for shoving an anti-ICE protester, who hit her head on a concrete pole, according to Religion News Service.
A Month of Threats Against Hindu Communities
The disruption came about a month after an alleged attempted mass shooting at an Illinois Hindu temple. Separately, Cook County prosecutors announced on Nov. 9 the indictment of a Palatine teen, identified by the Chicago Tribune as 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis, on charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawful use of a weapon connected to an alleged attempted mass shooting at the Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple in Aurora. Prosecutors said his rifle jammed when he tried to open fire, preventing the attack.
Pushpita Prasad, a Coalition of Hindus of North America member living in the Bay Area, spoke about a broader pattern of anti-Hindu hate, according to the Seattle Times. The coalition describes what it calls regular and repeated attacks on Hindu temples nationwide, including vandalism, threats and burglaries, per the Coalition of Hindus of North America.
What National Data Show
FBI data cited by The Indian Express shows law enforcement agencies overall reported 10,606 hate crime incidents in 2025, down from 11,404 in 2024, including 2,703 single-bias religious hate-crime offenses, of which anti-Hindu bias accounted for about 32, or 1.2%. The outlet cautioned that participation in the FBI’s hate-crime data collection is voluntary for state, local, tribal, and college and university law-enforcement agencies, meaning the figures are not a complete count.
