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After being canceled in one of the reddest counties in Texas, Kyle Rittenhouse finally got his chance to speak against what he described as a concerted censorship effort against him and conservatives.
In a rare public appearance, Rittenhouse, who has become an icon for Second Amendment advocates, walked onto the stage with AC/DC’s “Back in Black” blaring over loudspeakers to loud applause.
He answered questions during an interview with Cassandra Spencer, the former Facebook whistleblower for Project Veritas, who also spoke at the event held at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
A crowd of about 200 attended the Rally Against Censorship, hosted by Conroe-based Defiance Press and Publishing, which caters to conservative writers often shunned by mainstream publishers.
“So, censorship has played a major role in my case, my life—being censored from my supporters, being taken off Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,” he said. “That’s how censorship has played a huge role.”
Besides Rittenhouse and Spencer, five other conservatives spoke, including lawyers, authors, and activists.
The anti-censorship rally was initially scheduled to be held at Southern Star Brewing in Montgomery County, a conservative county north of Houston that votes overwhelmingly Republican. Even so, the brewery canceled the event after being bombarded with complaints, according to local media accounts.
The rally was then rescheduled at the public fairgrounds run by the county. However, organizer David Thomas Roberts, founder of Defiance Press, said Montgomery County received an avalanche of emails urging the event’s cancellation.
“I’ve been told they were getting literally hundreds and hundreds of requests to cancel us from all over the country,” he said.
Roberts said he had also tried to book at another local brewing company in Montgomery County before Southern Star Brewing but was turned down. He decided to approach Star Brewing because Republican events had previously been held at the location.
Roberts said he was told the company’s beer distributor, the H-E-B grocery store chain, had also weighed in against the event. However, Southern Star Brewing CEO told local news outlets that the accusation was false.
“Guys, this is Montgomery County, which a lot of you claim is the reddest county in the state,” Roberts said, clearly exasperated by his difficulties in securing a venue.
As one of the speakers on Jan. 26, Roberts criticized the mainstream media’s bias, citing a headline from the Houston Chronicle saying the event attracted a small crowd.
