DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The organizers of a political event at the Omni Hotel in Dallas this weekend say they were notified "last minute" the convention would be cancelled. "Young Americans for Liberty" had planned to bring about 1,400 students and hundreds more elected officials and investors to the Omni for its "Mobilize 2020" training event this weekend.
Young Americans for Liberty describes itself as "the most active and effective pro-liberty youth organization advancing liberty on campus and in American electoral politics." U.S. Senator Rand Paul was among elected officials scheduled to speak during the convention.
"We have 1,400 students, and let me say these key words: they planned to comply with their demands," says President Cliff Maloney.
Maloney says the group agreed to require masks, provide boxed lunches instead of buffet-style meals and people traveling together would also room together. He says the group was also making plans to follow social distancing guidelines; he says different capacity rules applied for different areas of the hotel.
"Where we got frustrated was the City of Dallas threw a bunch of curve balls at us over the last month, and we continued to adapt and comply," he says. "Even ten days before the event, they gave us the full sign-off from the fire marshal."
This week, after Maloney says they had started setting up, he says he was told the convention would be canceled.
"It's hard to not see this as a biased decision. The city is allowing protesters. We had 40 straight days of protests in Dallas, and there were positive comments coming out of the mayor's office about the protests," he says.
The City of Dallas says the company that manages Omni Dallas made the decision, but "large indoor gatherings have been canceled to comply with Governor Abbott's General Order" issued July 2.
Omni Hotel says its management company, Matthews Southwest, recommended stopping the convention. The hotel says it is working with groups forced to cancel events to reschedule "at an appropriate time."
Maloney says the event will have to be canceled, saying he cannot reschedule any closer to the election. Young Americans for Liberty is based in Austin but announced in June the event would be moved to Dallas because of Austin Mayor Steve Adler's "authoritarian threats and draconian policies."
"We took a bet, and we lost that bet," Maloney says. "The bet was the leadership in Dallas would be competent, they would be rational, and they would work with us in a fair and balanced way."
Maloney says Omni Dallas did offer a refund of rooms and convention space, but that will not cover travel and equipment costs.
