Group cancels hate-filled meetup in El Paso

Several ABC-7 viewers were concerned with an extremist group that had scheduled to meet in El Paso this Saturday.

The group Return of Kings is known for its anti-gay and anti-feminist views.

ABC-7 has since learned that meeting has been canceled due to safety concerns.

The founder of Return of Kings, Daryush Valizadeh (aka Roosh V), wrote on the website “I can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend on February 6, especially since most of the meetups can not be made private in time”.

He added, “While I can’t stop men who want to continue meeting in private groups, there will be no official Return Of Kings meetups. I apologize to all the supporters who are let down by my decision.”

Return of Kings had scheduled a worldwide meetup day on saturday, including downtown El Paso next to the ballpark.

The group speaks out against gay people and feminism – saying a woman’s value depends solely on fertility and beauty.

The group’s leader now says it was satire but had written before that rape shouldn’t be prosecuted if it’s not on public grounds.

An LGBT non-profit leader who did not want to be identified told ABC-7 that many people have come to them concerned.

She said, “There’s a lot of transgender people who do walk through that part back and forth to go to the gay clubs here in El Paso and so it’s kind of scary because a lot of them are alone.”

Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott chimed in about the meeting. He stated “This pathetic group and their disgusting viewpoints are not welcome in Texas. I’ve spent much of my career protecting women from such vile and heinous acts, and it won’t be any different on my watch as Governor.”

A spokesman for the El Paso Police said the department was aware of the meeting and will monitor the situation.