Laxalt to address gathering of conservatives amid controversy over disinvited speaker

WASHINGTON — Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt will speak this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the largest U.S. gathering of conservatives, which has been caught up in controversy surrounding former keynote speaker Milo Yiannopoulos.

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, White House political strategist Steve Bannon and chief of staff Reince Priebus are also expected to speak at the annual conference, which attracts conservatives nationwide.

Yiannopoulos was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the event, but that invitation was pulled Monday after the publication of remarks about age and sexual consent, according to Matt Schlapp, the American Conservative Union president.

In a social media post, Schlapp said: “Due to the revelation of an offensive video in the past 24 hours condoning pedophilia, the American Conservative Union has decided to rescind the invitation of Milo Yiannopoulos to speak at the Conservative Political Action conference.”

Yiannopoulos, a senior editor at Breitbart News, denied endorsing pedolphilia. He said the controversy is the result of selective editing of the video.

“I do not support pedophilia. Period. It is a vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst. There are selectively edited videos doing the rounds, as part of a coordinated effort to discredit me from establishment Republicans, that suggest I am soft of the subject,” Yiannopoulos wrote on his Facebook page.

Regardless of the explanation, Schlapp said Yiannopoulos would not appear at the gathering.

The annual CPAC conference has attracted top conservative leaders to Washington each year. This year’s roster also includes Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as well as a roster of up-and-coming conservatives.

There are more than 70 speakers on the bill for the four-day event.

Laxalt announced last week that he would speak at the annual conference.

The attorney general is considered a likely Republican gubernatorial candidate to replace Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, who is prevented from seeking re-election because of term limits.

Laxalt has more than $1.5 million in cash on hand that could be used for the 2018 gubernatorial race.

In a social media post, Laxalt said that he would talk to conservative activists at CPAC about “real property & how to protect your rights!”

Nevada Democrats asked Laxalt to back out of the conference when the controversy surrounding Yiannopoulos first erupted.

“In light of these revolting comments from one of the conference’s most prominent speakers, Attorney General Laxalt needs to immediately announce his withdrawal from CPAC,” said Roberta Lange, the Nevada State Democratic Party chairwoman.

The request became moot when the ACU rescinded the invitation to Yiannopoulos. A political spokesman for Laxalt did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

The CPAC conference runs Wednesday through Friday. The event will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at the National Harbor in Maryland.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.