3rd venue cancels Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene rally
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A third event venue in California has canceled a Saturday night rally by Republican House Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Instead, Gaetz said on Twitter that they would be holding a protest outside City Hall in Riverside, where one of the events was canceled. An Anaheim spokesman had announced the latest cancellation hours before the rally was scheduled to begin.
Spokesman Mike Lyster said city officials "shared our public safety concerns with the operator and the operator shares the concerns," the Press-Enterprise reported.
"We respect free speech and we are capable of holding events," Lyster said. "But it was the lack of advance notice for an event that would attract the attention at the level this one would that has raised issues for our city."
Lyster also said city officials had "concerns about the nature of the event and that it does not reflect the city of Anaheim and the values we share."
Two venues in nearby cities previously canceled plans to host the event.
FILE - In this June 30, 2021, file photo, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., left, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., sit in the House chamber during the vote to create a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, at the Capitol in Washington. A third event venue in California has canceled a Saturday, July 17, night rally by Republican House Reps. Gaetz and Taylor Greene. A spokesman for the city of Anaheim announced the latest cancellation on Saturday, hours before the rally was scheduled to begin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The two far-right members of Congress billed the event as an "America First" rally, part of a series they have spoken at this year.
FILE - In this May 7, 2021, file photo, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., left, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., address attendees during a rally in The Villages, Fla. A third event venue in California has canceled a Saturday, July 17, night rally by Reps. Gaetz and Taylor Greene. A spokesman for the city of Anaheim announced the latest cancellation on Saturday, hours before the rally was scheduled to begin. Two venues in nearby cities previously canceled plans to host the event. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack. File)
