Florida GOP leader in row over co-hosting Dutch MP Geert Wilders

Dutch MP Geert Wilders's invitation to a Free Speech Summit in Florida plunged him in the middle of a political row, with demands that Majority leader Rep. Adam Hasner resign his post for co-hosting the summit.

Guests also had to be redirected to another venue when the Marriott hotel cancelled the summit at the last minute, allegedly because of threats, according to organisers of the event. Wilders arrived in the United States on Monday to receive the international free speech award in Miami from the Florida Security Council. Despite demands by the Council for American-Islamic Relations that Florida majority leader Rep Adam Hasner, who is Jewish, should resign for co-hosting Wilders, the summit remained peaceful. Hasner has been targeted by CAIR since 2007 in an email-campaign to GOP-leaders, demanding that they withdraw their support from him. Wilders is receiving so much voters' support in The Netherlands this year, that top national pollsters believe he could become the country's next prime minister if an election were to be held now. However, Wilders' party expanded so rapidly that they now are actively vetting and campaigning for new candidates to represent the Party for Freedom at the country's next municipal and European elections. see The Florida Security Council issues the annual Freedom of Speech award to individuals or organisations which have made extraordinary efforts to fight for the rights of free speech worldwide. This year, it was awarded to the controversial Dutch MP. See our previous report here Earlier this year Wilders also received the Oriana Fallaci Freedom of Speech award in Rome, Italy. Days before Wilders' arrival, the row erupted when the Council for American-Islamic Relations called on GOP leaders, demanding that Florida majority leader Rep. Adam Hasner step down for co-hosting the Florida Free Speech Summit with Wilders. see The venue where Wilders would have shown his anti-jihadist film Fitna had to be changed from the Delray Beach Marriott hotel at the last minute over the weekend. Guests who had booked to meet him personally were redirected to the new venue at the Renaissance Hotel by telephone. Wilders lives under 24-hour security because a Fatwa - a death order - which was issued against him several years ago. All his meetings are carefully vetted by Dutch security agents. "The Marriott caved to threats and canceled the venue. They will be sued. The Free Speech organizers had to scramble to find another location, which had to be kept secret until the last minute. Each attendee had to be called individually and told of the new location - the Renaissance Hotel," co-organiser Geller said on her blog, Atlas Shrugged. Hasner responded by saying that he was 'not going to allow the right to free speech be stifled by a group like CAIR that has legally documented ties to the Muslim Brotherhood - a radical organization that is on record as stating they want to destroy America from within thru the imposition of Sharia law."see CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper was quoted as saying that 'it was unconscionable that a top leader of an American state legislature would host a gathering at which the faith of millions of Americans (Muslims) is denigrated and their rights denied."

“Republican Party leaders in Florida and nationwide must demand that representative Hasner step down from his leadership post because of his support for Geert Wilders and his Nazi-like message.”

CAIR has been targetting Hasner with an email campaign to GOP lawmakers since 2007, demanding his resignation. Read Wilders' speech here