{"id":468933,"date":"2026-10-17T16:30:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T16:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/468933\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T16:30:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T16:30:35","slug":"san-antonio-distillery-cancels-non-political-gun-rally-involving-controversial-candidate-brandon-herrera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/468933\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio distillery cancels ‘non-political’ gun rally involving controversial candidate Brandon Herrera"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Brandon Herrera holds an AK-47 he auctioned off to raise funds for his failed congressional campaign. Credit: X \/ @TheAKGuy<\/p>\n

Rebecca Creek Distillery has canceled an event featuring U.S. House candidate and gun YouTuber Brandon \u201cAK Guy\u201d Herrera after officials with the whiskey company said they learned it would be a political rally.<\/p>\n

The gathering, billed as a \u201cnon-political\u201d Second Amendment event hosted by the Texas chapter of Gun Owners of America, was to take place this Friday at Rebecca Creek\u2019s far North Side distilling operation. Country artist Creed Fisher \u2014 known for the viral song \u201cThe Way That I Am\u201d \u2014 was scheduled to perform.<\/p>\n

However, in press interviews, distillery officials said they only later learned of the event\u2019s political nature. In addition to it being a Second Amendment rally, Herrera would be present to campaign as the Republican nominee to represent District 23, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso.<\/p>\n

Herrera faces Democrat Katy Padilla Stout in the race, a San Antonio attorney and child-welfare advocate. <\/p>\n

Herrera, who has more than 4 million followers on his gun-focused YouTube channel, has drawn public criticism for his \u201cedgelord\u201d online commentary, which has included calling children \u201ccum trophies<\/a>,\u201d mocking fat people<\/a> and joking about veteran suicides.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Creek announced the cancelation in a Monday Facebook post<\/a>, stating \u201cat our core, we are committed to delivering performances that reflect our brands and community standards. We apologize for any inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Current reached out to Rebecca Creek Distillery but didn\u2019t receive a response by press time.<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently, supporting the Second Amendment is just a little too controversial for Rebecca Creek Distillery in San Antonio,\u201d Patriot Talk 920 AM, a conservative radio station based in Houston, posted on Facebook about the event\u2019s cancelation. <\/p>\n

Patriot Talk is involved in organizing the San Antonio event. In its post, the station insists the distiller was never kept in the dark that Herrera would be involved.<\/p>\n

According to Gun Owners of America, Rebecca Creek Distillery agreed to host the event on Sept. 2. <\/p>\n

\u201cYet days before the concert, they apparently decided to play the virtue signaling card and pretend they had somehow been blindsided by a political rally,\u201d Patriot Talk\u2019s Facebook post continued.<\/p>\n

In a statement shared on Facebook<\/a>, Gun Owners of America said its event organizers toured the premises on a walkthrough Sept. 19. At that time, the distillery\u2019s owners requested that the event\u2019s rhetoric not get political, according to the post.<\/p>\n

GOA said it planned to address the distillers\u2019 concerns by keeping political discussion to VIP areas.<\/p>\n

However, Rebecca Creek founder Steve Ryan told MySA<\/a> that he quickly realized that wouldn\u2019t be the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t expecting it was a political rally,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cIt was actually kind of radicalized.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI think we were bamboozled on the whole deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its Facebook statement, GOA maintained that while it invited Herrera and other GOA-endorsed candidates, that didn\u2019t mean the event would transform from a concert to a campaign stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also strongly disagree with characterizing this event as a \u2018political rally,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n

The event, which is still being touted online as a \u201cnon-political rally,\u201d has since found a new location, at Texas Pride BBQ in Adkins. Creed Fisher has been replaced as the headliner with another country artist, Chuck Wimer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Second Amendment can\u2019t be cancelled!\u201d the rescheduled event\u2019s poster added.<\/p>\n

Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.<\/p>\n

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