Protesters Expected For Steve Bannon Appearance In Anaheim Friday
ANAHEIM (CBSLA) – President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon will be the keynote speaker for the California GOP Convention, which kicks off in Anaheim Friday.
Bannon will speak at the opening dinner of the Fall Convention, which runs through Sunday at the Anaheim Marriot.
"Steve Bannon is not shy about taking on the establishment on behalf of hard working Americans," said CRP chairman Jim Brulte in a statement. "He is a leading voice in the effort to drain the swamp in Washington DC, a change desperately needed since it has limited our progress."
Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News, made headlines last week when he predicted that Trump will win a second term.
"President Trump's not only going to finish this term, he's going to win with 400 electoral votes in 2020," Bannon told the Values Voters Summit in Washington, D.C.
Bannon is scheduled to speak at around 8 p.m. However, a heavy police presence will be likely with protesters slated to gather outside the hotel beginning at 6 p.m.
The groups holding the protest, The Resistance Northridge, Indivisible and Indivisible OC 46, emphasized the gathering would be peaceful.
"We will not tolerate any kind of rioting or violence," the groups said in a statement.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Vedant Patel issued a statement Friday criticizing Bannon's appearance, saying in part:
"The California Republican Party should be ashamed of its embrace of far-right hatemonger Steve Bannon. Millions of Californians have already rejected Bannon and the divisive policies he and Donald Trump have championed, including attempts to strip health care from millions of Americans."
Also scheduled to appear at the convention Saturday are Jeanine Pirro, Stephen Moore, Grover Norquist and Charlie Kirk.
