Less than 10 hours before Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene were scheduled to take the stage at a venue in Orange County for their America First rally, Anaheim officials announced the event had been canceled amid significant public outcry.
Anaheim city spokesperson Mike Lyster said in a statement the Anaheim Event Center opted to cancel Saturday’s rally after city officials shared concerns about other events limiting police resources for a rally that would likely draw significant public attention and protests.
“It was the lack of advance notice for an event that would attract the attention this one would that raised issues for our city,” said Lyster, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
That didn’t stop the two far-right members of Congress — They just moved their dog and pony show to another venue — staging a protest rally outside the Riverside California City Hall.
They spoke before a cheering crowd of more than 100 who waved Greene and Gaetz signs. A number of rallygoers wore red, white, and blue and waved American flags, and more than one wore the distinctive red “Make America Great Again” hats popular with Trump supporters. Luckily, the show was only about 20 minutes long.
Greene took the microphone first. “We won’t back down,” she said. “The radical left wants to threaten you, they want to harass you, they want to target you, and they want to cancel you.”
When it was Gaetz’s turn, he ramped up the crowd -saying, “Marjorie and I called out the (Make America Great Again) army a few hours ago and you are here because you love America.”
Gaetz then asked the crowd, “Do you know why they’re so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Because we fight for you, not them.”
“They may try to cancel us online. They may try to pursue us in real life. They may try to shut down our venues. But we will take this fight to them in the courts, in the halls of Congress, and if necessary, in the streets!”
Gaetz and Greene have become firebrands for Trump-brand Republicanism. The pair have been co-hosting America First rallies across the country since early May.
And they certainly have made “Anaheim” trend on Twitter.
