Attorney General Daniel Cameron backed out of Eric Deters’ Freedom Fest after Northern Kentucky’s Congressman Rep. Thomas Massie questioned Cameron’s attendance at the event.
The move comes after some have called Deters out for making disparaging comments and using racial slurs in videos that he posts on Youtube.
“Daniel Cameron’s decision not to attend FreedomFest demonstrates sound judgment, and I encourage 4th District Republicans to support Cameron this November and vote (Gov. Andy) Beshear out of office,” Massie said to LINK nky.
The issue started last month when liberty-aligned Republicans — a contemporary homage to the Libertarian Party that gained steam in the early 2000s and continues to build via the Liberty movement — in Northern Kentucky called out Cameron’s attendance at Freedom Fest, which is an annual political event at Deters’ farm in Morning View, Kentucky, where he brings in national political figures.
Last year’s event included Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. This year Deters said Former President Donald Trump confirmed his attendance at the event.
TJ Roberts, a Republican from NKY, said that Cameron’s planned attendance at the event alienated liberty-aligned Republicans in the region.
Since Cameron backed out, however, Roberts said it was the right move.
“Cameron pulling out of this event was a wise move, especially with the revelation of Deters’ despicable statements and proof that Deters has lied about the presence of speakers like Congressman Cory Mills, who never agreed to speak at the event, to begin with,” Roberts said.
In an interview with the Courier-Journal, Massie said that Cameron’s advisers are guilty of “political malpractice” for letting him attend the event.
“Why would a guy who has a good chance to be governor — the attorney general, the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth — appear at an event organized by a man who lost his license to practice law in multiple states, who has a restraining order against him, who has been arrested for contempt, and who recently pled guilty to three charges of harassing and menacing?” Massie said to the Courier-Journal.
Massie referenced Deters recent run-in with his nephew that led the former attorney to plead guilty to menacing and harassing communications.
“It’s critical to the future of Kentucky that we defeat Andy Beshear this fall, and attendance by Republican candidates or office-holders at Freedom Fest will diminish the Republican Party’s prospects,” Massie said to LINK nky.
Last week, a spokesman for Cameron’s campaign indicated he still planned to attend the event, but that changed over the weekend.
“As it turns out, we’re going to be doing other campaign events that day in another region of the state. We plan to campaign in Northern Kentucky often between now and November 7,” Cameron’s campaign said in a statement.
Deters, who previously said he’s 99% sure he’ll run against Massie in next year’s Republican primary, told LINK nky he invited Cameron as a “gesture of support” but that his absence won’t impact the event.
Deters then released a video saying that Massie is a “fraud” and he is now his “sworn enemy.”
“Thomas Massie has gone after me ever since it has been known that I was considering running against him in a Republican primary,” Deters said.
Deters is fresh off running for the GOP nominee for Kentucky governor, where he garnered 6% of the vote but did well in NKY with 17% of the vote. He finished fourth behind Cameron, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, and former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft.
The ongoing battle between Massie and Deters — with Cameron in the middle — could play out in this year’s governor’s race and leave the Republican party in a schism before the election.
“Cameron’s absence from ‘Freedom’ Fest is a victory for decency and common sense, although I think it will be crucial for Cameron and all Republicans to condemn Deters’ hateful rhetoric in order to unify the Republican Party moving forward,” Roberts said.
Roberts said it was disappointing that Kentucky’s Republican Party Chairman Mac Brown has not condemned Deter’s use of racial slurs in videos he posts on his YouTube channel.
In reporting in the Lexington Herald-Leader, Deters didn’t express remorse over the comments, and the Republican party of Kentucky didn’t offer an official comment.
“It’s time for the Republican Party of Kentucky (RPK) to send a clear message that the views espoused by this event organizer are not compatible with our values, and that this event is in no way supported by the party,” Massie said.
Roberts expressed similar sentiments to Massie.
“It was deeply disappointing that Chairman Mac Brown, the chairman of the Party of Lincoln, refused to condemn Deters’s open hatred for people based on their immutable characteristics,” Roberts said.