Third Time’s NOT the Charm: New, Alternate Venue for Gaetz and Greene Rally ALSO Cancels, Just Hours Ahead of Start Time
Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images
The Anaheim Event Center canceled its plans to host Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s (R-GA) America First rally tonight, making it the third venue to cancel on the pair.
“A planned America First rally at a private venue in our city is cancelled,” city spokesman Mike Lyster said in a statement Saturday. “The city of Anaheim shared public safety concerns with the operator, and those concerns are shared by the operator.”
He added: “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.”
Prior to the Anaheim cancellation, two other Southern California venues had already canceled on them. The Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center in Laguna Hills canceled last week “as soon as [they] found out who the speakers were” in order to “stay clear of that,” and yesterday, the Riverside Convention Center nixed their plans to host the lawmakers’ rally amid backlash and planned protests.
In a tweet, Greene indicated that the event is still on for tonight — though it is not clear where it would take place.
“The [City of Anaheim] does not believe freedom represents their values, but America Last communists cancel culture does,” she wrote. “Me and [Matt Gaetz] are still having a rally to show all Americans how to stand up against tyrants and bullies using our great First Amendment!”
The America First Rally website does not list a location besides “Orange County,” but the time the event begins (7 p.m.) remains the same.
The back-to-back cancellations underscore the two lawmakers’ notoriety as many have attempted to distance themselves from the pair amid multiple scandals — including alleged sex trafficking by Gaetz and a history of antisemitic comments from Greene.
