Acquitted gunman Kyle Rittenhouse, who has turned his killing of two people at a racial justice protest into a badge of honor and embraced the right-wing celebrity that came with it, says the “woke mob” is the reason a major Las Vegas hotel became the second-straight venue to distance itself from him.
The Oak Room at the Venetian casino’s Grand Canal Shoppes “canceled us, and bent to the woke mob saying, ‘We aren’t going to host you guys anymore,’” Rittenhouse complained to host Sebastian Gorka on the far-right podcaster’s “America First” program on Tuesday.
Rittenhouse’s appearance, sponsored by the National Association for Gun Rights, had been scheduled for Wednesday, and was billed as a private reception with Rittenhouse. It was to be held during the SHOT Show — short for Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade — at the Venetian.
But a statement from the Venetian on Monday announced the venue would no longer be hosting the Rittenhouse event, saying it “did not align with our property’s core event guidelines.”
Rittenhouse has become a darling of the far right since he was acquitted two years ago of fatally shooting two unarmed people and injuring a third at a racial justice protest in Wisconsin in 2020. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, argued he acted in self-defense after traveling to Kenosha from the next state over, obtaining an AR-15-style rifle from a friend because he was too young to buy one, and opening fire at the protest.
Southern Star Brewing Co. in Conroe, Texas, was the first to cancel an event featuring Rittenhouse — billed as a Rally Against Censorship — that had been planned for this week. The brewery explained in a statement last Friday that it was “apolitical,” but had determined the event “doesn’t reflect our values.”
Rittenhouse blamed the “woke mob” for that cancellation as well.
The brewery was hit with threats and harassment after backing out.
“Our place is super inclusive,” brewery CEO Dave Fougeron told The Texas Tribune last week.
“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,” said Fougeron. “It’s crazy that we’re getting threats from people.”
Rittenhouse complained to Gorka that the brewery is actually political because it has posted about Pride parades. The event was canceled, he argued, “because of my name, and they’re just being unfair and biased.”
Rittenhouse said the Rally Against Censorship will now be held at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe, where it’s scheduled on the center’s website for next Thursday.