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The second attempt to hold a gala celebrating January 6 rioters, at Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, has been postponed.
The event had been scheduled for Thursday but an update on the gala's website now shows the date as postponed and location "to be announced," suggesting the organizers may also have to change venue.
Trump and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani were among the invited speakers but it remains unclear whether the former president actually planned to show up. Giuliani had confirmed his attendance, according to the website.
The website had no explanation for the postponement on Monday, and did not provide a timeline for when updated information would become available.
Sarah McAbee, who runs the Stand in the Gap Foundation in support of Jan 6 rioters who have been criminally charged, is trying to reschedule the event after the November election, according to the New York Times citing text messages it had obtained.
“I want you to know that we fought until the absolute last minute to have the event but there were multiple issues outside of our control, the main one being safety concerns of attendees and staff,” a text message reportedly said.
The event is personal for McAbee as her husband, Ronald Colton McAbee, is serving five years in prison for attacking police officers during the riot at the Capitol.
The Independent has contacted the Stand in the Gap Foundation for comment.
The gala billed itself as a celebration of 20 defendants who formed a prison choir and recorded a song called "Justice For All", a version of the National Anthem featuring Trump's voice speaking the Pledge of Allegiance.
The gala website says the event was also to pay tribute to “all J6 defendants who have shown incredible courage and sacrifice”.
The big draw for the event, aside from a potential Trump appearance, was the chance to win a “Justice For All' Donald J Trump & J6 Prison Choir" plaque. The item celebrated the song's brief moment at the top of the Billboard Music Charts shortly after it was released.
The plaque was part of an auction, the proceeds of which would have gone to "directly support the January 6th defendants and their families, providing much-needed assistance during these challenging times."
"This is a rare opportunity to own a piece of history while making a significant impact on the lives of those who have shown incredible bravery and sacrifice," the website stated.
There had been a previous attempt to hold the gala. A flyer for that event showed ticket prices ranging from $2,500 for an individual to $50,000 for a table of 12 with a speaker seated at the table, according to MediasTouch.
The second attempt at the gala had been planned ahead of Trump formally becoming a felon later this month. The Republican presidential candidate will be sentenced on September 18 after being found guilty on 34 felony counts in the Stormy Daniels hush money case in New York in July.
Once he officially becomes a felon, the former president will be "legally prohibited from associating with other felons," according to Tristan Snell, an attorney that prosecuted the Trump University case.
