DeSantis fundraiser held at NJ hotel instead of Rockland site to dodge protest

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke and dined with supporters at a northern New Jersey hotel Thursday evening after organizers of the campaign fundraiser shook off a planned protest in Rockland County by quietly changing venues.

The private, $6,600-per-person gathering with the Republican presidential candidate wound up taking place at a Hilton in Woodcliff Lake, just 15 minutes away from the Crowne Plaza near Suffern, the original site that organizers had dropped.

The new location in Bergen County was kept well-concealed from most except the invited guests. When a USA Today Network reporter arrived there shortly before 9 p.m., the dinner had ended about a half-hour earlier and workers were dismantling sound equipment in the ballroom where it was held.

But at least one protester had sniffed out the new site and showed up before the fundraiser ended. Heather Hurley of Pearl River said later she went there because of her opposition to DeSantis' "dangerous policies in Florida," particularly those regarding the LGBTQ community. She said she confronted Rockland County Executive Ed Day as he left the dinner about his being at the event.

“Why is he here?” Hurley said to a reporter by phone as she left the parking lot. “Especially after he just spoke at the Nyack Pride Parade.”

Day told Hurley he was an invited guest and decided to go for the chance to listen to and speak directly to a presidential candidate, according to a provided video of their encounter.

"We're not going to always agree on every aspect of every issue," Day said to her in the recording. "The important thing is that we talk to each other and, more importantly, listen to each other, and that's what I did tonight."

Plans for the fundraiser had slid into uncertainty a day earlier. Rockland Democratic Chairman Schenley Vital, who was helping organize the rally against DeSantis outside the Crowne Plaza, said then that Town of Ramapo police commanders had told him the police security detail for the event had been withdrawn.

That seemed to signify the private fundraiser would no longer be held there, and so the protest was called off, Vital said.

A few people showed up anyway at the Crowne Plaza Thursday afternoon ready to protest DeSantis. Cassiopeia Sandt, 17, of Chappaqua came to Rockland to send a message to DeSantis that "we don't want fascism in New York."

Barbara Weber of Tappan said she had just returned from spending a month in Florida. "He's too extreme," she said of DeSantis, mentioning "Don't Say Gay" legislation he championed, which bans school lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation; book bans; and the Florida governor's ongoing fight with Disney. "It's not right."

The fundraiser, which was open only to invited guests, was scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception, followed by a 6 p.m. dinner, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the USA Today Network. It was billed as an "exclusive evening" with DeSantis and "major business leaders."

The dinner coincided with another private fundraiser DeSantis attended on Thursday: a noon luncheon at the Yale Club in Manhattan, hosted by Wall Street executives. By chance, that midtown venue was just a few blocks from the Rockefeller Center studio where President Joe Biden arrived at 3 p.m. for a live MSNBC interview. Biden later went to two fundraisers of his own in Manhattan.

The DeSantis dinner was organized by Seth Gribetz, an Englewood, New Jersey, investor who told the USA Today Network last week that he and other planners hoped to raise $500,000 for DeSantis. He said they chose the Suffern hotel as their site because of its proximity to friends, colleagues and fellow DeSantis supporters in Rockland, northern New Jersey and Manhattan.

Gribetz said he was thrilled to host the fundraiser and praised DeSantis for his "consistently pro-Israel policies and longstanding support of the Jewish community." He said the governor had proven he'd be an "outstanding" president and represented the "next generation of solutions-oriented leadership."

But the status of the event was shrouded in secrecy as late as Wednesday.

Gribetz didn't respond to messages. Capt. Daniel Hyman, a Ramapo police spokesman, refused to answer questions about the canceled security detail. The DeSantis campaign said it couldn't comment on private events.

Dinner plans: DeSantis coming to NY this month to fundraise. How will New Yorkers welcome him?

Planned protest against DeSantis canceled, but activists celebrate

A coalition of LGBTQ advocacy and Democratic groups from New York City and the Rockland area had planned to stage a protest with speakers outside the Rockland hotel to denounce DeSantis for his policies as governor. DeSantis has angered the LGBTQ community with a string of conservative laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.

On Thursday, organizers of the "Get Gone Ron" demonstration celebrated the plan change as a recognition by DeSantis that "his hateful and divisive politics are not welcome in Rockland County, NY." They said in a statement that Ramapo police and Suffern businesses told them the governor wasn't coming to the Crowne Plaza.

“We strongly condemn Governor Ron DeSantis' relentless anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies in Florida”, Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, said in the statement. “Many LGBTQ+ New Jerseyans spend time in Florida and even call it their second home. It is disheartening to witness a leader who chooses to fan the flames of bigotry instead of fostering a society that celebrates diversity and embraces all its residents."

The DeSantis campaign also had peeved Rockland's Republican leader by planning the fundraiser without alerting him or Republican elected officials from the area.

Rockland GOP wasn't notified about DeSantis visit

Lawrence Garvey, the county's GOP chairman, said in an interview on Thursday that he and the party were thrilled whenever national figures visit but disappointed to have gotten no notice, which he said was a common courtesy. He also noted one practical concern: the party needs to avoid scheduling conflicts with GOP candidates "competing for the same dollars."

"A little coordination can go a long way," Garvey said.

DeSantis launched his long-anticipated presidential run last month and ranks a distant second in polls behind former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner among the 10 Republicans now courting the 2024 nomination.

DeSantis has since been on the fundraising circuit, with reported stops this month to collect checks in Sacramento, Calif., Washington, D.C., and six Texas cities during a three-day swing.

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: DeSantis fundraiser moved to NJ hotel to dodge Rockland protest