Three separate venues in California have canceled an event featuring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) due to pressure from liberal groups who threatened to protest the appearance of the two controversial congressmen.
The rally was originally set to take place in Laguna Hills, but the operator of the venue wanted to “stay clear” of controversy. Then, the rally was scheduled for Friday evening at the Riverside Convention Center but that, too, was axed after local Democratic radical Congressman Mark Takano objected.
Greene and Gaetz then booked the private Anaheim Event Center. But the owners had “public safety concerns” and decided to cancel.
Marjorie Taylor-Greene sent an email to supporters that said, “we are changing the venue a third time.” She accused Democrats and Black Lives Matter of “doing everything they can to kick us out of California” and “harass and bully any venue we book.”
The ability to terrify and intimidate local politicians into stifling free speech is extremely worrying.
“Riverside is a diverse and inclusive community, so it is heartening to hear that this event will not move forward. I am disappointed we even got to this point, because these speakers are the antithesis of everything Riverside stands for,” Gaby Plascencia, a nonpartisan member of the Riverside City Council, said in a statement.
Why not let your residents decide that for themselves? What are you scared of, besides a riot by anti-free speech Nazis?
For his part, Gaetz is thinking of suing the venues.
Mr. Gaetz suggested from his own social media account on Saturday morning that both [Congress] members were considering suing over the most recent cancellation in Riverside, meanwhile.
Referring to the statement Riverside issued the night before, Mr. Gaetz said on Twitter: “These quotes are going to make great exhibits in the lawsuit [Ms. Greene] and I will be filing.”
Ms. Greene, a first-year House member representing Georgia’s 14th congressional district, was stripped of her committee assignments in February after revelations emerged about her past social media posts.
Both members are bomb-throwers but unlike some in Congress, they have never openly advocated violence against anyone. Encouraging riots, as some Democrats did last summer, gets a pass.
Marjorie Taylor-Greene is a conspiracy-spouting right-wing nut. Mr. Gaetz has been accused of sex with an underage girl but has not been charged with a crime much less tried and convicted of anything. Their advocacy for claiming the election was stolen notwithstanding, it’s not up to city officials or owners of a venue to judge what they say.
The fact that they condemn radical Democrats — including Black Lives Matter — shouldn’t disqualify them from speaking whenever and wherever they wish. If their sideshow act can draw a crowd, certainly no member of Congress should be denied the ability to speak — especially when that denial is based on the simple fact that Democrats disagree with what they say.
What are Democrats in California so scared of?
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