Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three men during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was to be the featured speaker at an anti-censorship event, where attendees would be charged a whopping $275 to hear him talk about how he's been persecuted. Southern Star Brewery canceled the event in Conroe, Texas, and Rittenhouse didn't take that too well.
The CEO of the brewery explained that a "woke mob did not pressure him" and said that the cancellation was prompted primarily by concerns from local patrons. So, of course, threats and harassment poured in.
The Texas Tribune reports:
"It's been kind of a shitstorm," Southern Star Brewery CEO Dave Fougeron said in a Saturday morning interview. "But now I'm more certain than ever that I made the right decision."
Fougeron also said that he was not aware until a few days ago that the event's "special guest" was Rittenhouse. And he disputed claims – including those from Rittenhouse and others – that the cancellation came after pressure from a "woke mob" or distributors such as H-E-B.
Fougeron described himself as apolitical and said his brewery strives to be a place that's welcoming to everyone.
"Our place is super inclusive," he said. "We are super pro-veteran, super pro-law enforcement. We're trying to be good people in the community. We're friends with our firefighters, with our police department…. We have a lot of gay patrons who come in because it's a place of inclusivity. It's crazy that we're getting threats from people."
An event spokesperson confirmed the cancellation on Friday and said it was “definitely” getting rescheduled elsewhere.
The Jan. 26 event was also set to include a leader of TEXIT, a group that advocates for Texas to secede from the United States. The event organizer is Defiance Press, a Conroe-based publisher behind titles including "Corona-fascism" and a biography of Joe Arpraio, the former Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff who refused a judge's order to stop racial profiling by his department.
If you look at Rittenhouse's profile on Twitter, there is a link to a donation page to help him "fight the left-wing Democrat (SIC) wing" where he is seeking $500,000 in donations. A civil lawsuit was filed against Kyle. So far, since last year, he has raised $68,520 in donations.
But he decided to go to Kenosha as a fully armed teenager amid civil unrest. That was his decision, albeit a very poor one because it resulted in death and added mayhem. It's also Fourgeon's decision to cancel the young grifter from being a featured speaker on his property. Conservatives need to learn to respect that.
