The management at the Landing Event Center in suburban Cincinnati didn't know much about the event that was scheduled for Sunday, the general manager told The Enquirer.
Just that a client asked to rent the Loveland, Ohio space for an event that involved "Hillbilly Elegy" author and Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
Then on Thursday, General Manager Jodi Taylor logged on to her computer. A flood of messages on social media and emails greeted her from people angry about the event. And calls started coming in.
The event was a "meet-and-greet" with J.D. Vance and controversial Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who just endorsed Vance.
The event has been moved from the Landing Event Center in Loveland to the Marriott Cincinnati Northeast in Mason.
In an email, Vance's campaign said the event was moved due to a large number of RSVPs.
The change in venues highlights the difficult situation political events create for venue owners.
After discussing it with the owners, the management felt they weren't in a position to hold the event, Taylor said. She said they didn't know it was open to the public and would have an unknown number of people, she said.
"We just chose to respect it was a very emotional topic," Taylor said. "People are passionate about what they believe. We were wrapping our heads around what was going on. We didn't know there would be a guest."
They asked Vance's campaign to find another location.
Then management posted a notice on its Facebook page.
"Due to the tremendous interest in the JD Vance presentation that was scheduled to take place here this Sunday, it has been relocated to the Marriott NE located in Deerfield Twp. We appreciate everyone's interest and concerns."
The Landing Event Center didn't want to jump into the politics, Taylor said.
"It doesn’t matter what we do," Taylor said. "We have both sides upset."
Activists are now trying to stop Greene and Vance's appearance in Mason. The Mason-Deerfield Township Democratic Club and others have shared a link encouraging people to call the Marriott, reserve seats to take up space and ask the Mason mayor to take a stand.
As of Saturday morning, the event is still a go for Mason, according to Vance's campaign.
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