Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz will hold a “peaceful protest” outside the city hall of Riverside, California, after a third venue set to house an “America First” rally hosted by the pair pulled out just hours before they were set to take the stage.
After the Anaheim Event Center, a private event venue in the city, canceled plans to host Gaetz and Greene’s Saturday night rally, the pair called on supporters to gather outside Riverside City Hall, a venue Gaetz that said “is going to be even better than we imagined.”
“The cancellations show how afraid the Left is of our message. But they can’t cancel our movement! … This is HAPPENING in SoCal!” he continued.
HOTEL CANCELS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ RALLY AFTER LEARNING GAETZ AND GREENE WERE FEATURED SPEAKERS
Greene said that Anaheim, California, “does not believe freedom represents their values, but America Last communists cancel culture does.”
“The radical left can’t cancel our freedom of speech and protest against the Democrat’s communist ways!” she tweeted. “See you there!”
Earlier on Saturday, the city of Anaheim expressed its disapproval of the planned event at the Anaheim Event Center, noting that it was scheduled to take place at a private venue rather than one operated by the city.
“We learned of the planned relocation of this event to a private venue in our city late Friday. It is not a decision by or supported by the city of Anaheim,” Mike Lyster, a spokesman for the city of Anaheim, said. “As a city, we respect free speech but also have a duty to call out speech that does not reflect our city and its values. We are looking into this matter this morning.”
After the Pacific Hills Banquet and Event Center in Laguna Hills, California, announced last Sunday that it was canceling plans to host an “America First” rally upon learning Gaetz and Greene were scheduled speakers, Riverside was chosen as the new host city.
“As soon as we found out who the speakers were, we immediately canceled it,” the general manager of the Laguna Hills venue, Javad Mirtavoosi, told the Orange County Register on July 9. “We just thought it would be best for our facility to cancel.”
Raincross Hospitality, a private company that operates the Riverside Convention Center under contract with the city of Riverside, then backed out of hosting the duo for reasons that remain unclear.
Representatives for the Anaheim Event Center and the Riverside Convention Center did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
Gaetz and Greene have both become controversial figures within the GOP in recent months, with Gaetz facing accusations of having a sexual relationship with a minor and Greene being removed from her House committees over comments she made before being elected that critics said promoted far-right causes and conspiracy theories.
Gaetz has denied the allegations against him, while Greene has apologized for her controversial rhetoric.
The two were then linked to a plan to create a caucus dedicated to the idea that the United States is based on Anglo-Saxon traditions, but the group was scrapped amid public criticism and pushback from within the GOP in April.
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Gaetz and Greene’s city hall event is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. local time Saturday.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said that the protest would be held in Anaheim, but it will actually be held in Riverside. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
