Lebanon County Young Republicans seek new venue after LVC Kirk vigil is canceled

Update 9 a.m. – We just received word from Lebanon Valley College that the event has been cancelled. An LVC spokesperson said that campus was informed yesterday that the LVC College Conservatives withdrew their request to use campus space for a vigil. We are working to get more details.

Update 9:40 a.m. – Here is an official statement from LVC vice president of marketing and communications Molly O’Brien-Foelsch:

“The LVC College Conservatives withdrew their request to use an LVC campus space for a vigil. The College neither directed nor pressured that decision. We support the free expression of student organizations. Throughout the planning process, we provided students with options, safeguards, and care — including security planning, policy guidance, and access to support services. Our commitment to safety and the open exchange of ideas remains firm.”

Molly O’Brien-Foelsch, LVC vice president of marketing and communications

Update 10 a.m. – Lebanon County Young Republicans chair Anthony Catalani told LebTown in an interview Tuesday that he found out earlier in the morning that the event has been cancelled – for now. Catalani said that the Lebanon County Young Republicans are exploring new alternate locations because “we’re not going to give up, we still want to do this for Charlie Kirk.”

Catalani also pushed back on the LVC statement about the cancellation.

“While it is true that the College Conservatives withdrew their request to host the event, they did so only after facing significant and unprecedented pushback from the college administration,” he said.

Catalani said that after the event was originally planned and announced, the college imposed a condition of paying a $10,000 security fee, which he said would have covered a bomb sweep, drones, and road closures. Catalani said LVC cited a potential counter-protest and alleged threats in imposing this fee, which he claimed was rare if not unique for the college.

The student group, he said, was asked to pay the $10,000 fee by Monday or by default it would be withdrawing the event.

Catalani said the vigil itself would have probably only attracted around 50 people and that the college justified the fee by citing alleged counter-protests.

“This rationale is flawed because it penalizes the student group for the projected response, rather than the nature of their own event,” said Catalani.

Catalani said he hopes to have a new location within 24 hours.

“We haven’t given up and we haven’t stopped believing we can have this,” he said.

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Update 12:15 p.m. – In an email to LebTown, LVC vice president of marketing and communications Molly O’Brien-Foelsch noted that Lebanon Valley College’s Freedom of Public Expression policy states that event sponsors agree to be responsible for the cost of additional security measures if the college determines they are necessary.

“On the day that LVC learned that multiple elected officials and other prominent speakers were slated to speak, and that the event had been advertised on multiple social media accounts across multiple counties, we consulted with Chief Andrew Winters of the Western Lebanon County Regional Police,” said O’Brien-Foelsch. “Following the advice of law enforcement, the College required the LVC College Conservatives to cover the cost of the level of security that was outlined by law enforcement—because of concerns about outside actors and because of what happened to Charlie Kirk on a college campus.”

O’Brien-Foelsch said those costs were estimated to be $8,000-$10,000.

“The security requirements were unrelated to the counterprotest plans that were anonymously posted on social media,” said O’Brien-Foelsch.

O’Brien-Foelsch denied Catalani’s claim that the college pushed back on the campus Conservatives Club regarding this event. “We have been communicating with its student leadership and supportive of their efforts throughout the process,” said O’Brien-Foelsch.

O’Brien-Foelsch said the group was given two weeks’ notice about security measures that would be appropriate to provide for a safe event and how much they would cost. O’Brien-Foelsch said it was not true that the college justified the fee by citing alleged counter-protests.

According to a high-level proposed budget shared with the group by Chief Winters, the costs would have included approximately $1,600 for four officers, $780 for four deputy sheriffs, and approximately $5,200 for four staff members from the Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services as well as a vehicle and drone. The budget did not include costs for Annville Township to bring and remove trucks nor for Pennsylvania State Police, Winters said in the email, which was shared with LebTown by Catalani.

According to another email shared with LebTown by Catalani, sent by a college administrator, the following safety measures were proposed by the the college in consultation with Western Lebanon County Regional Police and Pennsylvania State Police:

• Extra police presence at the event and on campus
• Sweep of the Chapel by a K-9 unit
• Closure of the upper portion of the Chapel
• Police/metal detectors at the Chapel entrance
• Temporary installation of additional cameras on campus
• Closure of Sheridan Avenue during the event
• Off-campus parking for guests

The group was responsible for a $8,000 deposit, with any additional costs to be billed after the event, the email stated. The emails did not show LVC explicitly pinning the security fee on anticipated counter-protests. LebTown has followed up with Catalani for additional info.

Our original article is below.

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The Lebanon County Young Republicans and Lebanon Valley College Conservatives Club will host a public vigil honoring the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, in Miller Chapel at Lebanon Valley College.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot by a sniper on Sept. 10 while speaking at a college rally in Orem, Utah. Authorities there have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and related offenses. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

The event, scheduled on the eve of what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, is free and open to the public. Organizers encourage attendees to bring flashlights and signs.

Scheduled speakers include Jewel Gilbert, Turning Point USA Eastern Pennsylvania representative; Robbie McArdle, chairman of the Lebanon Valley College Conservatives Club; Anthony Catalani, chairman of the Lebanon County Young Republicans; Pastor Jon Landis of Oley Valley Church; state Sen. Chris Gebhard; and state Reps. Russ Diamond, Tom Jones and John Schlegel.

“Charlie Kirk championed civil discourse and open dialogue — cornerstones of our democracy,” Catalani said. “It is vital that we carry forward his legacy of respectful and peaceful debate.”

The organizers selected Miller Chapel as the venue, citing it as a location that reflects Kirk’s “values of faith and the courage to engage in open dialogue across differing viewpoints.”

Students, faculty and community members throughout Lebanon County are invited to attend the vigil.

Last week, a prayer vigil in memory of Kirk hosted by ELCO school board member Rachel Moyer and her organization, Pennsylvanians for Freedom, was held at Lebanon’s Hilltop Playground

Read More: Lebanon prayer vigil for conservative activist Charlie Kirk avoids politics