Media Release

Democratic Caucus
Monroe County Office Building
39 West Main Street, 4th Floor, Rm. 408
Rochester, NY 14614
P 585-753-1940 F 585-753-1946

For Immediate Release

Contact: Saul Maneiro Phone: 753-1930

Democratic Caucus Condemns

Reawaken America Tour Stop in Rochester

Rochester, NY – May 20, 2022.

The Democratic Caucus of the Monroe County Legislature is deeply disturbed by the “Reawaken
America Tour” stop scheduled at the Main Street Armory in Rochester in August. This tour
features speakers who support extremism, including QAnon conspiracy theories, Christian
nationalism, the Big Lie, violent insurrection, attacks on LGTBQ rights, and anti-vaccine
falsehoods. The tour promotes exactly the hateful rhetoric that has been used by mass murderers
to justify heinous attacks on innocent people – most recently against our neighbors in Buffalo.

“Hate has no home in Rochester. It’s outrageous and offensive for this tour to come to a Black
and Brown neighborhood. We urge the owner of the Main Street Armory to cancel this booking
for the safety and well-being of the community,” said Legislator Mercedes Vazquez Simmons,
who represents the neighborhood near the Armory.

“We support free speech. We do not support hate speech. The Main Street Armory is under no
obligation to host extremists. We ask Scott Donaldson to put the Reawaken America Tour to
sleep in Rochester,” said Minority Leader Yversha Roman.

We would like to see the Republican Caucus similarly repudiate this event, as this kind of
dangerous and extremist rhetoric has sadly become all-too mainstream in American political
discourse.

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