The organizers of the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference are accusing Hyatt of 'buckling to cancel culture' after the hotel chain issued several apologies when controversy broke out over the design of the stage.
Hyatt Hotels, which was hosting the event at the Hyatt Regency Orlando property in Florida, called symbols of hate 'abhorrent' after the stage at CPAC drew comparisons to a Norse rune used by the Nazis during World War Two.
A photo of the CPAC stage went viral on social media on Saturday, with thousands of Twitter users sharing posts comparing its distinctive design to an othala rune, one of many ancient European symbols that Nazis adopted to 'reconstruct a mythic 'Aryan' past,' according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The American Conservative Union which organized CPAC are accusing Hyatt Hotel of 'buckling to culturists on the Left' after apologizing following accusations they hosted at event at the Orlando Regency Hotel that saw the stage appear similar to Nazi imagery
Some have suggested the CPAC stage was similar to a Norse rune which was often used in place of a swastika during World War II
The ceiling of the conference room also featured a lighting display in the same shape as the stage, according to photographs.
Hyatt said all aspects of conference logistics, including the stage design, were managed by the American Conservative Union, which organized the conference.
On Monday, representatives from the American Conservative Union said Hyatt had 'disparaged and defamed' the ACU by its response to the outcry.
Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, told Fox News that Hyatt Hotels 'buckled to the lies of the cancel culturists on the Left' amid the controversy over the stage design.
Not all Nazi symbols are obvious as swastikas. Above are some lesser known runes and emblems used by contemporary white supremacists
'We are going to stand up for our honor and our character and it's just absurd to accuse this conference and our organization of being anti-Semitic when we had the U.S. ambassador to Israel spoke from that stage,' Schlapp said, also noting that there were Jewish religious services also held at the hotel over the weekend.
Schlapp said that accusations over similarities to Nazi imagery were 'absurd.'
'The comparisons were outrageous and slanderous,' he said, adding that the ABU has a 'long standing commitment to the Jewish community' while the conference itself also featured several Jewish speakers.
He explained how organizers of the event were hoping to issue a joint statement in response but then claims Hyatt broker the agreement after CPAC was over 'disparage us' as a way to try to 'curry favor with the cancel culturists of the Left.'
A number of users on Twitter believed the CPAC stage design was deliberately built to echo Nazi imagery
Schlapp said the ACU is considering whether to boycott Hyatt for any future events urging conservative Americans not to spend their money at corporations that will 'attack' them on the 'whim of any false charge.'
'Contrary to Hyatt's own mission statement of inclusivity, your company just attacked its own customer by caving in to the pressures of the politically motivated social media agitators who seek to destroy CPAC, our attendees and speakers from across the country, and the millions of Americans who support our work,' David Safavian, General Counsel for the American Conservative Union, said in a statement.
Safavian's also noted that the group collaborated with Hyatt Hotels and subcontractors during the planning process – including on the stage design and no concerns were raised by the company at any point.
Hyatt explained that they were only made aware of the similarity in imagery when the conference was already underway.
'With CPAC's denial of any intentional connection to hate symbols and our concerns over the safety of guests and colleagues in what could have been a disruptive situation, we allowed the event to continue', Hyatt explained in a statement.
Hyatt added that 'colleagues occasionally faced hostility from attendees' at the conference when attendees were reminded to wear masks and socially distance.
Hyatt also said it was 'extremely disappointed by the disrespect many individuals involved in the event showed to our colleagues'.
One discussion at CPAC over the weekend saw panelists blasting 'cancel culture'
In a follow-up statement Hyatt said: 'We take the concern raised about the prospect of symbols of hate being included in the stage design at CPAC 2021 very seriously as all such symbols are abhorrent and unequivocally counter to our values as a company.
'The CPAC 2021 event is hosted and managed by the American Conservative Union that manages all aspects of event logistics, including the stage design and aesthetics. We discussed directly with ACU leadership who told us that any resemblance to a symbol of hate is unintentional. We will continue to stay in dialogue with event organizers regarding our deep concerns. Any further questions can be directed to CPAC.'
High-profile Republicans including former President Donald Trump were attending the four-day event in Orlando, Florida, as conflict rages between Trump allies and establishment politicians trying to distance the party from him.
Some Trump supporters who launched a deadly attack against the U.S. Capitol on January 6 carried Confederate flags, which many Americans see as a symbol of oppression and slavery. Extremism experts said some of the rioters were members of white nationalist groups.
Trump's presence dominated this year's CPAC, with his supporters parading a larger-than-life golden statue of the former president through the lobby of the hotel at one point.
Trump hinted on Sunday at a possible presidential run in 2024, attacked President Joe Biden and repeated his fraudulent claims he won the 2020 election in his first major appearance since leaving the White House nearly six weeks ago.
It's unlikely that those at ground level, as in this photograph, would have been able to see the resemblance to Nazi imagery
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