Gaetz and Greene hold sidewalk protest after venues cancel their ‘America First’ rally

Anaheim venue cancelled event after city officials objected to it

Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a free speech protest on a sidewalk in California after no one would give them a venue for their America First rally.

The Republican lawmakers spoke to around 100 supporters outside of Riverside City Hall after an event space in Anaheim became the latest place to cancel their booking on Saturday.

The members of Congress reported that they had secured the M3 Live Anaheim Event Center for the rally, despite opposition from city leaders.

But after Anaheim officials criticised the controversial politicians for bringing the event to the city, the venue changed its mind about hosting the pro-Trump representatives and their supporters.

It came after two venues, the Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center in Laguna Hills and the Riverside Convention Center, cancelled on the GOP members when complaints flooded in.

The pair also spent time together with supporters on Huntington Beach.

“We won’t back down,” Rep Greene told the Riverside rally where they spoke for ten minutes. “The radical left wants to threaten you, they want to harass you, they want to target you, and they want to cancel you.”

She added: “And here’s what we’re going to do, America. You’ve got two members of Congress right here and we refuse to be canceled because we won’t let you be canceled.”

She then told the small crowd that Donald Trump’s policies “are going to save our country and stop the Communists that are trying to destroy our freedom.”

Ms Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, lost her house committee assignments in February after videos emerged of her supporting QAnon and 9/11 conspiracy theories, along with harassing school shooting survivors.

She also called for the execution of House leader Nancy Pelosi in a Facebook post, and compared the Senate’s mask mandate to the Holocaust, for which she later apologised.

Mr Gets, a congressman from Florida, also told the crowd that he refused to be cancelled.

“Marjorie and I called out the (Make America Great Again) army a few hours ago and you are here because you love America,” he said.

“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 take this fight to them in the courts, in the halls of Congress and if necessary, in the streets.”

Mr Gaetz is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged sex trafficking, which he has strongly denied. He has not been charged with any crimes.