The leader of a controversial right-wing group canceled their conference in Detroit, alleging they were kicked out of the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit, where he said they had plans to hold events. The move comes after Detroit police had responded to a dispute involving the group on Friday.
Nicholas Fuentes of the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) said Saturday on social media that the group was setting up the stage on Friday at the industrial center when people with the center told them they would not be allowed to proceed. Fuentes says they had a contract for the venue.
But an official with the Russell Industrial Center said they were tricked by the group and never had any contract directly with Fuentes or AFPAC. The center was working with a third party, "a local and reputable production company that does large scale corporate events for other reputable companies," the spokesman said.He said they would have never accepted such an event if they had known what they promote.
"The event was canceled due to fraudulent, knowing misrepresentation of the true nature of the event by the production company for their client, and our concern of safety for our facility, employees, tenants, and the surrounding communities," a spokesman for the Russell Industrial Center told the Free Press in a statement. "The amount of hate mail we’ve been receiving and terrible things being said towards us by the AFPAC following is disturbing and only affirms our decision as the right one."
Fuentes has beendescribed bysomegroupswho monitor hate groups as a white nationalist who promotesracist,sexist, antisemitic and hom*ophobicviews. A report last year in the Texas Tribune said he often praises Adolf Hitler.
The spokesman for the Russell Industrial Center said it's "a performance and arts complex, not a political rally hall. We never have, or will knowingly accept those kinds of events, and believe it is a gross misuse of our space.We do not politically affiliate with any group or party.It baffles me why they chose our venue for such an event."
Detroit police officers arrived at Russell Industrial Center at about 3 p.m. Friday, Detroit police spokesman Officer Justin Hearn told the Free Press Saturday. Hearn said that police were not the ones who shut down the event, but were responding to a dispute between AFPAC and the industrial center.
"We did not shut the event down," Hearn said. "Police officers from the 3rd Precinct did (respond). They stood by."
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Hearn said it was a dispute between the Russell Industrial Center and the group leasing the space. The spokesman for the Russell Industrial Center praised the actions of Detroit police, saying they "did an outstanding job in responding and peacefully protecting the property. We thank them endlessly."
The Russell Industrial Center spokesman added that before the event, "we were told when booking the event that it was a 'private, high class corporate event with a seated dinner and some key note speakers.' The production company also had us downsize our normal security protocols as they kept ensuring this was a corporate event with all professional corporate attendees."
Fuentes posted a photo on X of what appeared to be himself inside a center on Friday with some police officers near him.
"Yesterday we finished setting up our stage and then the venue called the cops to kick us out 24 hours before the event," Fuente said on X. "It would have been our biggest yet with ~2,000 attendees."
In addition to his post on X, Fuentes posted more details on Telegram about what he said happened. Fuentes said they were trying to negotiate Friday with the property manager when police arrived and threatened them with trespassing charges if they didn't leave. Fuentes said about 100 people with their group were there and that the doors were then locked, with some of their equipment still inside.
But the center's spokesman had a different take on what happened.
"The police were called after the production company refused to stop their operations, and continued setting up for the event after we notified them of its cancellation," said the Russell Industrial Center spokesman. "We were very cooperative in allowing them to stay in the venue to begin removing their belongings off the property, but anything past that their presence would be considered trespassing."
The spokesman for the center added that "the production company also had us downsize our normal security protocols as they kept insuring this was a corporate event with all professional corporate attendees."
Fuentes often holds his conferences near the location of more mainstream conservative conferences, said an official with the Southern Poverty Law Center. This weekend, Turning Point Action, led by Charlie Kirk, is holding a conference at Huntington Place in Detroit, where former president Donald Trump spoke Saturday. Fuentes showed up at Huntington Place on Friday before being escorted out by security, social media posts show. He then gave some remarks outside the center against Israel, criticizing their actions against Palestinians and attacking Turning Point for being pro-Israel.
Fuentes said they were trying to find an alternative venue after being removed from the industrial center, but couldn't find a suitable location.
"I am sorry for everybody who traveled to Detroit for this event," he said in the Telegram post. He said they will be in touch for possible refunds and intend to reschedule the AFPAC conference, which would have been their fourth national conference.
On Saturday evening, Fuentes was seen on a livestream with a megaphone addressing a crowd below him outside Huntington Place. Fuentes said "this is not a free country anymore." He railed against what he called the "Jewish mafia" and heaped praise on Henry Ford, calling him a visionary who was attacked for his antisemitic views. He again slammed Israel as the crowd chanted "Christ is King," "No more wars" and "Down with Israel."
Mike Hacham, a Republican activist in Dearborn who supports Trump, attended the rally, with Fuentes pointing to him and telling the crowd: “We have a Muslim-American over here, isn’t that great.” Hacham led the crowd in chants of "Down with Israel" and later told the Free Press that Fuentes "wants to build bridges between the Muslim community and the Christian community here in America."
Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com
