Rittenhouse event organizers stand by claim of vendor threats despite denial
Jenny Goldsberry
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The event organizers behind a free speech rally featuring Kyle Rittenhouse are standing by their allegations that the location that was renting space for the rally was threatened by its distributor, H-E-B Grocery Stores.
Southern Star Brewing Company announced in various social media posts Friday that it would no longer rent space for the “Rally Against Censorship” scheduled for Jan. 26 on its 13.5-acre property. Along with Rittenhouse, speakers included former Navy Seal Justin Sheffield and Daniel Miller of the Texas Nationalist Movement and Defiant Press and Publishing’s David Roberts and Cassandra Spencer.
“Up until now, Southern Star Brewery had agreed to host this event with full knowledge that Kyle Rittenhouse would be invited and had no problem whatsoever,” Roberts wrote in a subsequent press release. “It’s not until H-E-B threatened to end their business with them that they decided to pull our event. Clearly money talks and values walk for Southern Star.”
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A representative for Defiant Press and Publishing confirmed that this is the second location to pull out of renting a space for the event. The first location canceled over a book from Defiant Press and Publishing long before Rittenhouse was announced as a speaker.
Rittenhouse was at the center of the 2020 incident in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during riots associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. He shot three men, killing two during the riot. The 20-year-old was acquitted of all charges in 2021.
While Roberts confirmed to the Washington Examiner that no deposit had been put down, he claimed that the venue didn’t require one, nor did it ask for one. This is in direct conflict with what the brewery’s founder Dave Fougeron told the Washington Examiner about his process of renting space.
Fougeron told the Washington Examiner it is a “blatant lie” that H-E-B ever threatened to stop doing business with the brewery should the event go on. Instead, he claimed that he was persuaded by his customers to cancel the event.
H-E-B did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
Roberts said he wanted to speak out following the social media posts from Southern Star claiming that the event didn’t “reflect our own values.” He pointed out other political events that had been held there and called out the post for being “completely disingenuous.” When asked about the allegation that H-E-B had threatened the brewery, Roberts doubled down on it.
“I guess I should have recorded the call,” Roberts told the Washington Examiner of his communication with Fougeron. “He did tell me H-E-B, the buyer, had threatened to remove their product from their shelves. I wasn’t even aware they sold their product through H-E-B. I didn’t even know H-E-B carried their brand.”
“Why else would they do an about-face on this if there wasn’t a threat?”
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The rally will still go on and continues to solicit reservations as it searches for a new venue.