On July 17th, Majorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz are slated to speak at an America First Rally to be held at the Riverside Convention Center. As the Convention Center is the property of the city of Riverside, we call on all Riverside City Council members to condemn Taylor Greene and Gaetz’s toxic ideology and cancel their booking of the venue. Gaetz and Greene have consistently used their platforms to embolden and empower dangerous far-right and white nationalist political currents in the U.S. today. They have undermined public health and contributed to countless deaths by trafficking in the most vile conspiracy theories concerning the pandemic. They have consistently excused and downplayed the January 6th attempt to overturn the democratic will of the country.

Greene and Gaetz’s conspiracies, racist dog whistles, and appeals to nationalist violence have no place in our city. Their presence is a violation of the values of our community. If City Council members refuse to condemn this rally and revoke their invitation they will be complicit in the spread of bigotry and lies in our community. The city council must demonstrate their commitment to democratic values by condemning this rally and denying them a platform to disseminate their noxious views.