Anti-Muslim hate group cancels Mar-a-Lago gala

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/07/act-for-america-mar-a-lago-gala-cancelled-anti-muslim-group

"A rightwing “national security organization” with a history of anti-Muslim extremism has scrapped plans for a lavish $1,500-a-head gala dinner at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lagoresort in Florida, after a backlash from civil rights groups.

Act for America, whose founder, Brigitte Gabriel, has boasted of weekly meetings at the White House, booked Trump’s Palm Beach retreat for its annual dinner on 7 November, with the conservative author Michelle Malkin as keynote speaker.

But after accusations from civil rights advocacy groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Council on Islamic American Relations (Cair), that the president was “profiting from bigotry”, the Trump Organization abruptly pulled the plug on the event at the weekend.

“This event will absolutely not be taking place at Mar-a-Lago,” the New York Times reported, quoting an unnamed Trump spokesperson who did not elaborate on the statement."....(more)