Attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference booed Friday when organizers encouraged them to wear masks inside the Florida hotel where the annual event is being held.
The American Conservative Union’s Executive Director Dan Schneider and CPAC Deputy Director Carly Patrick took the stage in the morning to urge people in the audience to wear masks, saying they were passing along the guidance of the private company hosting the event.
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“I know this might sound like a little bit of a downer, but we also believe in property rights, and this is a private hotel,” Schneider said. “And we believe in the rule of law, so we need to comply with the laws of this county that we’re in. But a private hotel, just like your house, gets to set its own rules.”
She elaborated, “We are in a private facility, and we do want to be respectful of the ordinances that they have as their private property. So please, everyone: When you’re in the ballroom, when you’re seated, you should still be wearing a mask.”
They’re just begging people to wear masks
— Molly Jong-Fast? (@MollyJongFast) February 26, 2021
“So if everybody can go ahead, work on that. I know, I know, it’s not the most fun,” Patrick continued, as scattered shouts of “freedom” gave way to louder complaints from the crowd.
CPAC is being held in Orlando this year instead of in the District of Columbia, where it usually is, because there are fewer coronavirus-imposed restrictions.
Former President Donald Trump will speak at CPAC on Sunday. He’ll be “talking about the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement,” according to a source familiar with the former president’s plans who previously spoke with the Washington Examiner. Trump is also expected to rebuke President Biden’s “disastrous amnesty and border policies.”
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A number of Trump administration figures such as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, Dr. Ben Carson, who served four years in Trump’s Cabinet, and Ric Grenell, who was acting director of national intelligence, are expected to appear during the convention.
