Why won’t the Italian Community Center host a Moms for Liberty Town Hall with former President Donald Trump? We’ve asked.
The Italian Community Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has refused to hold a Moms for Liberty Town Hall event at its venue that will be attended by former President Donald Trump on the morning of the first GOP debate, Wisconsin Right Now has exclusively learned.
We’re first to report that Trump has agreed to appear at the August 23, 2023, event. It’s not yet clear whether Trump will appear virtually or in person at the “Giving Parents a Voice” Town Hall.
We first learned about this from a source, and then confirmed the information directly from Moms for Liberty’s national co-founder Tiffany Justice.
Sandy Winard, the president of the Italian Community Center, has said on Twitter that she believes Trump should be prosecuted and made other disparaging comments about Republicans. In one post, she said GOP Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was George Santos “in drag.” In another, she called Trump a “bad hair huckster.”
“I will confirm that we were very excited to host the town hall in Wisconsin at the Italian Community Center. I myself am Italian. I was excited. And they apparently have decided they don’t want us there,” Justice told Wisconsin Right Now in an exclusive interview. “You have presidential candidates who are confirmed to come, including President Trump.”
She added: “I just think it’s really unfortunate. We’ve held successful town halls around the country in places like Michigan and Iowa. The Marriott was willing to host us (at a previous Philadelphia event). It’s a slap in the face to candidates and to the parents of Milwaukee.” She noted that a nearby school’s students have very low proficency scores in reading and math.
Asked whether Trump was appearing virtually or in person, she said, “You never known with President Trump. He may come in person.” But he’s confirmed he’s attending for sure, Justice said. In addition, she confirmed that Vivek Ramaswamy will attend and possibly two other presidential candidates.
“Wisconsin parents are very concerned about a lot of different things they are seeing happen in their schools, from the lack of academic achievement to sexualization of children,” she said. “They have had enough. We want to make sure all of America can hear from Wisconsin parents.”
She said the town hall is called “Giving Parents a Voice” and registration is open to the public.
A source close to the process previously told Wisconsin Right Now that Moms for Liberty’s town hall organizer had signed the contract and paid the deposit for the event after the Italian Community Center agreed to host it. The Italian Community Center suddenly cancelled the contract on Saturday morning, August 12, 2023. Justice confirmed the source’s information.
The ICC did not provide a reason, other than that the facility could no longer accommodate the event, and they returned the deposit, the source said. The town hall will still occur, the source said. However, it’s not clear where the event will be held as its organizers are currently looking for a new venue. Justice also confirmed this information, and she said that the town hall will be held somewhere because the non-partisan group, which has chapters in Wisconsin, isn’t backing down.
We have contacted the ICC and were told to write its PR office, which we did. We asked,
Why was this contract cancelled?
Why won’t Italian Community Center rent to Moms for Liberty for this event?
Who made the decision?
Bartolotta Restaurants responded for ICC, saying, “No agreement for an event on the morning of August 23rd at the Italian Community Center. There will not be an event for the Moms for Liberty at the Italian Community Center.” However, that did not answer our questions, so we wrote again: “Yes, we are aware there is not an event now. However, ICC had agreed to host the Moms for Liberty event (where Trump is appearing) after the MFL organizer signed the contract and sent the deposit. Why did ICC refuse to host this event? What changed? Why will ICC not host this event?”
It’s still not clear whether Trump will appear at the first GOP debate, which is at a different forum that same evening, on August 23, 2023.
The town hall will be at 10 a.m. on the morning of the debate. The format will see the candidates on stage at different times, answering questions from an audience of Wisconsin parents chosen by Moms for Liberty, the source said.
The Moms for Liberty Town Hall is a different event from the Riley Gaines talk and school board training that will be held at the Pfister on August 22, although some of the same people are involved.
Courage Unleashed 🔥
August 22nd, Milwaukee Wisconsin @Riley_Gaines_ @BridgetAZiegler @LeadershipInst @LearnRightLI https://t.co/qEy2Tc9qb3
— Moms for Liberty (@Moms4Liberty) August 9, 2023
The cancellation comes after a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Rory Linnane ridiculously framed the Moms for Liberty as a hate group, writing that it is “a group designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist antigovernment organization.” Linnane failed to mention the many controversies and biases surrounding SPLC. Regular moms in Wisconsin are part of Moms for Liberty Wisconsin.
It also came after the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association launched an effort to cancel Moms for Liberty, writing that they are not “welcome in Milwaukee.”
Linnane then updated the article to say that a spokesperson for Bartolotta Restaurants, which books events for the center, simply said, “there will not be an event for the Moms for Liberty at the Italian Community Center.” The Journal Sentinel had reported that it wasn’t clear which presidential candidates would come.
However, that doesn’t give the full story by leaving out the fact that the ICC had agreed to host the event before suddenly cancelling it without explanation, the source said.
President Donald J. Trump to @Moms4Liberty: “I’m going to give our education system back to the states.”
🇺🇸 STANDING OVATION! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/3DVQ4Dbw4F— Erika Donalds (@ErikaDonalds) June 30, 2023
Trump previously spoke to Moms of Liberty at its Philadelphia conference.
According to its website, Milwaukee’s Italian Community Center (ICC) “was established to serve Italian Americans and to serve the community at large. It carries on human relations activities on a charitable basis for the purpose of demonstrating to the community the positive force of Milwaukee’s Italian American citizens. It plans, promotes and carries out other charitable, educational and cultural activities which best serve the welfare of Americans of Italian extraction and the community at large.”
The website adds, “The Italian Community Center foster a pride in, and an awareness of, Italian culture by sponsoring lectures, classes, conferences and study groups devoted to the contributions which Italians have made to this country and to mankind. The Italian Community Center organizes and hosts Festa Italiana, the annual celebration of Italian culture, heritage and entertainment, at the Summerfest Grounds.”
