#WalkAway Founder And Panelists Discuss Hispanic Town Hall Taking Place Right In Ocasio-Cortez’s Congressional District

On Saturday, the #WalkAway movement is hosting a “Hispanic American” town hall. The event, which will be held in Congressional District 14, will feature speakers and panelists including Anna Paulina, Drew Hernandez, Gabriel E. Montalvo, among others.

For the uninitiated, the #WalkAway movement was created by former progressive Brandon Straka. On May 26, 2018, Straka released a video titled, “Why I Left The Democratic Party.” It has since been viewed more than 2.7 million times on Facebook.

In the video, Straka explains his exodus from the Democratic Party. Many more former progressives have followed suit. A cursory YouTube search for “Walk Away” brings up video after video of individuals telling their own stories about leaving the Democratic Party or progressivism more generally.

Straka has hosted numerous town halls over the last seven months focusing on minority communities. I was able to attend and cover the very first #WalkAway town halls (one in Harlem, and another for the LGBT community) in March of this year in New York City. 

While the Harlem town hall proceeded smoothly, leftist activists protested the LGBT town hall. You can check out my coverage here and here.

I spoke with Anna Paulina, Gabriel E. Montalvo, and Brandon Straka about Saturday’s town hall.

Paulina, who is the Chairwoman of Hispanic Initiatives for Prager U, as well as a congressional candidate in Florida’s 13th district, told me that while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has been “branded by the mainstream media as the voice of Americans of Hispanic descent,” that’s simply untrue.

She stated that the Hispanic community at large holds conservative values, and that the only reason the Democratic Party focused on them in 2016 was “not because they care about immigration or us as a people, but because we are the largest voting minority in the country – which to them translates to power.”

According to Paulina, the Hispanic town hall is important because it will “showcase some of the largest conservative Hispanics voices in the country who will fight for our constitution and against socialism.”

“This event smashes any identity politics the DNC and MSM try to play,” she added.

As for the reason she decided to join the event, Paulina said:

I realized that if I did not speak up against the manipulation of Hispanic Americans, I was part of the problem. We can no longer expect others to fight this ideological war for us. We have to take a stand for our culture, for our people, and most importantly, for our country. The United States is America is the greatest country in the world. We are here to make sure we remain a constitutional republic and a free nation.

Gabriel E. Montalvo, a Specialist in the NY Army National Guard and New York State Vice-Chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, told me that this event is vital because “the RNC and New York GOP, in my opinion, are not doing enough in regards to Hispanic outreach. Hopefully, this event sends a message to them.”

We are here from all over the country to show that Hispanics are ready to walk away from the Democratic Plantation. We are in Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district to show that we are against socialism as many of our countries of origin suffered from those policies.

I think that what drives #WalkAway are the testimonials. A movement that gives people a platform to share their stories is vital. It shows that there are like-minded individuals who will not judge you for thinking differently. Everyone has a unique story, and the civil exchange of ideas is what moves the country forward.

Straka, who has lead the movement to where it is today, spoke about why the event will be held in the 14th district:

This being our first of what will be many Hispanic American town halls, we felt it was important to kick off this outreach in District 14 of NYC, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s district. The reason being, not only are minorities in America being told that they have no option but to follow the Democrats, the messaging now is subtly changing to one that says, “If you belong to a minority class, you must embrace socialism, globalism, and the increasingly extreme policies being embraced by the political Left.”

Brandon Straka

✔@BrandonStraka

On Fri. I went to @AOC’s office, was surprised to find her there & hand delivered this invitation to our event this coming Sat. I told her & her team HISPANIC AMERICANS DON’T HAVE TO BE SOCIALISTS & DON’T HAVE TO BE DEMOCRATS. Hope 2 see u there, AOC.
TIX: http://WalkAwayCampaign.com/events 

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Straka noted that “Hispanic Americans, who are traditionally known for a culture that celebrates family and faith, are being told that conservative values are racist and contradictory to their best interest, while ironically also being told to embrace extremist abortion stances and policies that directly oppose their faith and the integrity of the family.”

We are launching our outreach for Hispanic Americans in the constituency of the most celebrated socialist and extremist Democrat in America today to give this community a powerful message that isn’t being delivered effectively by anybody else. No, Hispanic Americans do not have to follow the Democrats off a cliff. There is a better choice.

The location of the event has yet to be announced due to a previous incident in which activist protesters convinced a certain venue to pull out of hosting just days before the LGBT town hall was slated to begin. For more information on the Hispanic town hall, click here.