Richard Spencer hosted an event at a Maryland farm. Halfway through, everyone was kicked out.
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A weekend conference organized by white nationalist Richard Spencer was shut down after the owners of the Maryland farm he rented discovered he was behind the event.
The think tank that Spencer leads, the National Policy Institute, hosted the conference for about 100 people at Rocklands Farm, a winery and events venue in Montgomery County. Spencer said in an interview that a third-party logistics company contacted Rocklands Farm on behalf of the National Policy Institute this month and didn't reveal that white nationalists were affiliated with the event when they booked it. The company told the farm's management only that it was a "corporate" gathering, according to Spencer.
The conference started about 11 a.m. Sunday and was scheduled to continue until 8 p.m. Caterers at Rocklands Farm served brunch, and participants recapped 2017. At about 4 p.m., Spencer said, someone working the event learned that Spencer was there, and management told everyone to leave.
"We didn't lie, we didn't deceive, and we certainly did not break any rules while we were there," Spencer said. "We had sharp words and were obviously disappointed, but there was no confrontation of any kind."
The farm refunded the group's money after asking it to leave.
The owners of Rocklands Farm didn't comment on the incident beyond a statement on their website Monday, which says it proudly does "business according to family values, including welcoming people of all backgrounds, race, ethnicities, cultures, and religions."
The statement continued: "Throughout our history of hosting private events, we have never had to ask a group to leave. However, yesterday, November 19, we discovered that a private event held here was, in reality, a gathering of an organization that is strongly in opposition to our values. We immediately and politely asked the group to leave. We are grateful that the group agreed to peacefully leave."
The National Policy Institute booked space at Rocklands Farm after the property manager at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, a federal facility in the District, told the organization that it couldn't host its conference at the building. The two sides had been in communication for months before a private management company rejected the request over safety concerns.
Spencer's public appearances have been a lightning rod in recent months, both for the content of his speeches and questions over free speech. His events often attract large numbers of protesters.
The University of Florida reluctantly agreed last month to allow Spencer to speak on campus after initially rejecting his request. Spencer and his lawyer challenged the initial decision, citing First Amendment concerns. The university paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for security at the event.
Spencer described the Rocklands Farm gathering as a policy conference, in which attendees paid $225. Spencer said before the event that it was to feature Daniel Friberg, the European editor of AltRight.com, and Kevin MacDonald, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "the neo-Nazi movement's favorite academic."
The organizers didn't publicly disclose beforehand that the event would be held at Rocklands Farm, Spencer said. Instead, organizers arranged for vans to pick up attendees at various locations and drive them to the farm.
After Rocklands Farm management told them to leave, those vans then shuttled the conference attendees to another private space outside the District before they then went to dinner at a restaurant, Spencer said.
"I'm not mad, but if I were a business owner, I would not do that," Spencer said. "If communists came to my establishment, but they were civilized, I couldn't imagine kicking them out. So I'm certainly disappointed, but we are not going to retaliate. It's just life in 2017 for us."
Spencer was one of the leaders of a white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August. The march at the University of Virginia — with participants chanting "Jews will not replace us!" — touched off violence between demonstrators and counterprotesters that turned deadly the next day when a man drove into a crowd, killing one woman and injuring others. Two police officers who were monitoring the protests died when their helicopter crashed.
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Makes me proud to be from Maryland. Maryland and Virginia have hundreds of wineries, and I've been to at least a third of them. I plan on visiting Rocklands Farm in the near future to show my appreciation.
Rockland Farms is a private venue and they were well within their rights.
Kudos to Rockland Farms.
Funny thing this "Private owner" is "within the owners rights" to do something because......
Gotta ask this question:
Since this "Private" owner "Rents" his private place to the "public".....does that make the owner a "Serving the Public" type business ?
White separatists are not a protected class, at least they aren't in Maryland.
Where did "White seperatist" and "Private" meld again in my comment ?
I asked about a "Private owners" rights when it comes to "Public" offerings.....period.
The same place in melded in mine; nowhere.
You asked a question and I answered it. If you incapable of understanding the connection, I can't help you.
So you just pulled some "Rabbit" out of a hat ?
Weird it would say that....yet Disavow and throw out someone for their "Background" .....and that's Okay for some !
Background is Background......PERIOD !
Are you saying this "Private Business Owner" didn't know who this guy was ?
Time to petition congress to pass a new law to require background checks for business patrons.....ALL patrons !
That sounds fair.
And here I thought the article was about what the Maryland farm owners did. We already know what "Spencer" is. Doesn't take an article to figure that part out.
No again. You asked a question. I answered it cogently. Go look up Maryland's 'public accommodations' law for yourself. Perhaps if you read it slowly, you'll understand my comment about White supremacists not being a protected class. After you do that, if you are STILL confused, I can't help you.
They know nothing of Spencer's background, they know ALL the need to know about his agenda and it's opposition to their mission statement.
So you're saying that if you ran a private event location you'd book NAMBLA as long as they agreed not to engage in any illegal activities with kids while they were on your property?
There is a big difference between denying certain groups for their vile or hateful speech and denying service to someone because of their race, gender, faith or sexual orientation.
I didn't ...as YOU say....."Piss and Moan" about ANYTHING !
You need to learn what the phrase "Piss and Moan" means.
Yep....that's what I said.
How does EVERYONE ELSE know then ?
No it doesn't.
The law is on the business owners side here as long as they refund any money collected... Private property is still private property, no landlord relationship is created so there is no right to tenancy.....
There is also the issue of not fully disclosing the purpose of the meeting, and that could easily be outside the allowed uses in the contract to use the property....
Their best bet is to leave and move elsewhere......
Actually it does. The "Private Owner" collected the "Bucks", set him up, then disavowed him, where the ones that didn't collect anything as to the "Mean Green", have LOST their entire "Private Business", and almost gone to jail.
You remember the ideological disputes from the cake business.....right ?
Not one dime changed hands !
I guess this is one ideology that is a good thing to disavow ?
Political Business is Political business after all ?
Seems to me reading the article, the organization that set it up is the issue, the land owner didn't do a thing except stand on his principles.....
And where in the article does it say anyone was threatened with Jail?
I missed it.....
This is an issue that is governed under the law of contracts, and if the contract between the organizer and the winery was violated, then he had every right to void the contract and tell them to leave.
Simple as that......
Doesn't matter who the speaker was or what they were speaking about.....
The issue Spencer has is with his contractor who organized it, not the landowner....
Of course........So how 'bout those Cake business's....that stood on their principles and said NO too. Did you defend them also ?
Probably NOT....as "Those" business's said no to something you "Like". This is one of those Liberal Hypocrisy moments, shining brightly in the sky !
FRIGGIN Love it.
Nope. The 'Private Owner' signed a contract and collected the 'Bucks' from a 'third party'. If Spencer has an issue, it's with the 'third party', not the 'Private Owner'. Then, and ONLY then can the 'third party' sue the 'Private Owner' for damages. BTW, that would be hard since the 'third party' has already been 'made whole'.
What agency law are you talking about?
"Spencer said in an interview that a third-party logistics company contacted Rocklands Farm on behalf of the National Policy Institute this month and didn't reveal that white nationalists were affiliated with the event when they booked it."
So the "Private Owner" was approached by someone else who set up the event without telling the owner who was actually going to be using the facility. The owner has no obligation to let anyone else effectively "sublet" their location to another party without their permission and they refunded the "bucks".
What I'm curious about is, why are you so quick to defend white supremacist rights?
Also, this isn't about discriminating against a class of people, it's about allowing your venue to be used for the promotion of certain types of messaging. I think you'd be on the other side of this argument if this were a Church who wouldn't allow a gay couple to rent their facilities for a gay wedding or if it were an Muslim Imam known for hate filled rhetoric wanting to book the venue to promote terrorism and acts of violence against Christians.
Should a baker be allowed to deny selling a wedding cake to a gay couple that is identical to any other wedding cake he sells to straight couples? No. Should that baker be forced to rent his family farm to host the gay wedding? No. Should a baker be allowed to deny selling a cake to a white supremacist that's identical to any other cake he sells to anyone else? No. Should that baker be forced to rent his family farm to host a white supremacist rally? Of course not. The issues are very different even though some without access to all their brain cells may not see it.
This is one of the funniest posts of all, I have ever seen in my six years here... Will tell ya why in a minute....
Yes I defended all of them, absolutely! And if you have been around a bit longer you would realize I'm one of the lead Libertarians on the site....
Accusing ME of Liberal Hypocrisy? Thos Business's saying NO to something I LIKE?
Biggest joke I've ever seen.
Why don't you ask any of the liberal around here what they think of me?
What a fucking joke....
Actually, if you rent your Maryland farm to straight weddings you have to rent to gay weddings. Sexual orientation IS a protected class in Maryland.
Welll, that's mighty white of Spencer.
I don't for one minute believe that the owners didn't know Spencer would be there. Oh, how righteous of them!
I don't for one minute believe that the owners didn't know Spencer would be there.
Maybe you didn't bother to read the article.
Spencer said in an interview that a third-party logistics company contacted Rocklands Farm on behalf of the National Policy Institute this month and didn't reveal that white nationalists were affiliated with the event when they booked it. The company told the farm's management only that it was a "corporate" gathering, according to Spencer.
They don't need to read no stinking article! They can just regurgitate innuendo and speculation and claim it's persuasive.
Why were they required to say that it was a "white nationalist party"?
A winery was contacted by a third party logistics company, to book a gig for a group so vile that nobody else will book them when they try to reserve space under their own name. Why are you not getting this?
I don't get a lot of things because I am not going to buy into media says and media does.
Then exactly where did you garner the information you needed to decide that the owner knew Spencer would be there?
Well I plan on visiting this winery in the near future. Is there a question you would like me to ask them for you? Or am I uqually untrustworthy?