Police presence and security planned for Steve Bannon GOP event at Phil Long Music Hall
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado GOP members say they have requested five marked Colorado Springs police vehicles and elevated security within the Phil Long Music Hall for their Golden Gala on Friday night.
Steve Bannon, a controversial Republican figure, will speak at the event. Tickets to meet Bannon start at around $1,500.
Darcy Schoening, the director of special initiatives for the Colorado GOP, says they expected pushback when scheduling the event but were in a pinch when the second venue they had requested, the Antlers Hotel in Downtown Colorado Springs, backed out of their agreement.
"The second that the event went out, there were protests scheduled on Reddit, Facebook and Twitter," Schoening said. "And we'll handle these people like we handle anything else. We're Colorado Republicans. We're here for our annual dinner to raise money for candidates to get candidates elected and to have a good time. And we're not here to fight."
Two groups in Colorado Springs, the Colorado Springs People's Coalition and the Democratic Socialists of America, have posted on their Facebook about protesting during Friday's event. KRDO13 reached out to both groups to learn more about their plans, but they have not replied to our request for a comment.
After this report aired, Colorado Springs People's Coalition provided KRDO13 with this statement:
"Colorado Springs People's Coalition is a grassroots organization that fights against police crime and political repression. As an affiliate of the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, it is our duty to stand up and fight back against all white supremacists.
This protest is important to us because the CO GOP is pushing a platform calling for less police accountability and more political repression of our communities via ICE. Their choice to give Steve Bannon a platform is shameful, especially given his recent comments defending mass deportations."
- Jesse Proffitt, CSPC
