Event featuring democratic socialists in Fort Lauderdale moved after backlash

A Friday political rally promoting democratic socialist candidates was relocated twice in 24 hours after two Fort Lauderdale venues pulled out following intense backlash and accusations of antisemitism, according to the organizers.

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The Chomp The Oligarchy rally, planned in support of U.S. House candidates Oliver Larkin and Elijah Manley and U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections, will go on as scheduled at 8 p.m., organizers said, but at a third location in Fort Lauderdale made available only to people who RSVP.

The Florida Youth Justice Coalition and Gen Z For Change, which helped plan the gathering, denied that they are promoting antisemitism and said the rally and venues have been targeted by an “intimidation campaign.”

“What this story is about is how local leaders and businesses are being intimidated by folks that want to deplatform insurgent candidates, progressive candidates,” said Cameron Driggers, the Florida Youth Justice Coalition executive director. “It’s un-American. It’s alarming, and I would hope that every candidate in all the races that will be decided on Tuesday would stand out against this type of behavior.”

The struggle to find a venue to hold (and not cancel) the event ahead of Florida’s Aug. 18 primary election highlights a rift that has been playing out nationally among moderate and progressive Democrats. Democratic socialist candidates have unseated more moderate incumbents in primaries in Colorado, Michigan and New York while condemning actions by the state of Israel.

A flier promoting Friday’s event touts guest appearances by Melat Kiros, a DSA candidate who ran a winning campaign on an anti-Israel platform in Denver, and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American elected to Congress.

Organizers say The Venue Fort Lauderdale, the spot where Friday’s event was initially planned, pulled the plug when they wouldn’t disinvite Tlaib, who has denied persistent accusations that she is antisemitic.

Larkin and Nixon are DSA members, and their respective opponents, U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz and retired Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, are Jewish and support U.S.-Israel relations. Manley, who announced years ago that he had converted to Judaism, is running for Florida’s 20th Congressional District in a field that includes Jewish U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

A social media firestorm spread this week after far-right activist and “#proudislamophobe” Laura Loomer targeted the event on X due to Tlaib’s involvement. In her post on X, Loomer accused Larkin of hating Jewish people. “Why is Rashida doing this? Because Jared Moskowitz is Jewish,” Loomer wrote.

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State Rep. Michael Gottlieb, a Broward Democrat who is Jewish, also blasted the rally on Facebook on Thursday: “The Venue Fort Lauderdale is hosting an Anti-Israel and Anti-Zionism coalition of candidates, make no mistake this is anti-Jew. This is a coalition of candidates and organizations who are on the strongly pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel left, several of whom have been involved in disputes over where anti-Zionism crosses into antisemitism.”

Gottlieb later thanked The Venue on Facebook for canceling the event.

Driggers and Jack Petocz, the Gen Z For Change senior director of communications, said The Venue gave them an ultimatum: uninvite Tlaib or cancel the event. “They knew that they had signed a contract, but were willing to break it because it was more important to appease the people harassing and intimidating them, which is a real shame,” Driggers said.

In a statement posted on Facebook, The Venue said: “Once we became aware of the full scope and nature of the event and reviewed the publicly circulated promotional materials, we immediately began addressing the matter. Due to the increased security concerns as well as the welfare of attendees and staff, the decision was then made that the event would not proceed at our property.”

Though The Venue’s statement did not mention an ultimatum, Tlaib or rally speakers’ views on Israel, the business said in its statement that The Venue is Jewish-owned and operated. “Our values and commitment to the Jewish community are deeply important to us,” the statement said.

Driggers and Petocz said The Venue was aware of the nature of the event and who would be there.

“One of the three candidates we are uplifting, Elijah Manley, is Jewish himself. The insinuation that this event is in some way an affront to the Jewish people is patently ridiculous,” Driggers said. “The only antisemitic rhetoric I’m seeing is the continued conflation of the Jewish people with the foreign policy agenda of a foreign government.”

Organizers said they quickly relocated the event to the Downtown Event Center in Fort Lauderdale, but received a call from the venue around midnight with a similar message. “They were intimidated by an onslaught of harassment, phone calls, emails, threats,” Driggers said. The rally was then relocated to a third venue.

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