National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) president Dudley Brown said that the second cancellation in as many weeks for an event featuring Kyle Rittenhouse is simply a matter of business operators bowing to the “woke crowd.”
“The woke crowd had a fit,” Brown told The Epoch Times.
Rittenhouse was to speak at a private reception at the Oak Room, a restaurant and bar in the Venetian Resort Las Vegas on Jan. 18 during the National Shooting Sports Foundation 45th annual SHOT Show. SHOT stands for the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade show.
Oak Room management cancelled the reception on Jan. 16.
Rittenhouse was previously set to attend a fundraiser at The Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe, Texas on Jan. 26. The “Rally Against Censorship” was reportedly cancelled after Texas-based grocery store chain H.E.B., complained.
Rittenhouse posted an announcement about the Oak Room reception on his Twitter page that said the event would be open on a first-come-first-served basis, and the doors would close when the venue was filled.
Most of the responses to the tweet were critical of Rittenhouse, calling him a murderer and ridiculing part of his trial testimony in which he wept as he recounted the events in Kenosha. A few made overt threats against Rittenhouse, and many encouraged people to contact the Venetian and complain.
Brown said that on Jan. 16 an Oak Room manager—whose name he did not recall—called and told him the event had been cancelled. Brown said he tried talking to the manager who was very polite but adamant.
“He said he couldn’t get his employees to work,” Brown said. “I finally just said, ‘Okay, they’re gutless.’”
Jon Fine a partner and co-owner of the Oak Room in the Venetian Resort Las Vegas told The Epoch Times that politics was not a factor.
“I will not tolerate any threat to my staff,” Fine said.
Fine said his employees never refused to come to work. He cancelled the reception after the business was flooded with angry calls and emails. He said some complained, some made threats, and some asked if they would be allowed to bring guns. Fine said he had to unplug the Oak Room’s phone to stop the calls.
He showed an Epoch Times reporter one online message that named a female manager of the Oak Room and accused her of being rude. The writer called the manager a vulgar name and encouraged everyone to call The Venetian and complain about Rittenhouse’s planned appearance.
“Every side of the political spectrum was calling, and my staff was threatened. That’s where we draw the line,” Fine told The Epoch Times.
Fine said the Oak Room has protocols for private functions that Rittenhouse did not follow. He claimed Oak Room management was not told a public figure would be in attendance or that the event would be promoted on social media.
Promoting the event online increased the chance that a large crowd would show up which would be a security issue in a small venue like the Oak Room. Fine said he tried to recommend other venues better suited to the NAGR’s needs.
“We weren’t trying to shut (Rittenhouse) down,” he said.
On the day of the planned reception, Rittenhouse and Brown greeted SHOT Show visitors at the NAGR booth.
Rittenhouse has become an icon among gun rights groups. A jury acquitted him of all charges after finding that he shot his AR-15 rifle in self-defense, klling two people and wounding a third. He was charged with murder after an August 2020 riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha to help protect property from and provide first aid to rioters.
Following the brewer’s decision to cancel, Rittenhouse wrote in a Twitter post: “It’s really disappointing to see that places continue to censor me and not allow my voice and many other voices to be heard because they bend to the woke crowd. I’ll keep you guys updated on the event on the 26th that I was supposed to speak at.”
